Kevin R. Rhodes — Federal Procurement Policy Administrator with Palantir Stock
Administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Office of Management and Budget. OFPP sets government-wide procurement rules and oversees all federal acquisition policy.
President and CEO of EMBR Strategies LLC (currently inactive). Holds Palantir stock and Systecon North America (analytics software) interests.
Conflict of Interest
Rhodes holds Palantir Technologies stock ($1,001-$15,000) while serving as Administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy – the official who sets the rules for all federal government purchasing. This is not a conflict within one agency. This is a conflict that spans every federal contract Palantir holds or bids on across the entire executive branch.
OFPP’s authority includes:
- Setting government-wide acquisition regulations (the FAR)
- Issuing procurement policy guidance that all agencies must follow
- Reviewing and approving major acquisition programs
- Overseeing the federal acquisition workforce
- Setting thresholds and procedures for contract competition
Palantir holds contracts with ICE (Investigative Case Management), CBP, FBI, Army, and dozens of other agencies. Every procurement policy Rhodes sets – from competition requirements to sole-source thresholds to data rights provisions to “other transaction” authority rules – can advantage or disadvantage Palantir across the entire federal marketplace.
Rhodes also has ties to Systecon North America, a software company focused on analytics, and owns EMBR Strategies LLC (listed as currently inactive).
Financial Disclosures
Net worth: $184K (asset range $184K-$510K)
Key detention-relevant holdings:
- Palantir Technologies Inc. Class A (PLTR) – $1,001-$15,000
- Systecon North America (analytics software) – undisclosed value
Business interests:
- EMBR Strategies LLC – President and CEO (inactive since taking office)
Liabilities:
- Chase mortgage – $500,001-$1,000,000
- Amerisave mortgage – $500,001-$1,000,000
- Wells Fargo mortgage – $100,001-$250,000
- American Express line of credit – $15,001-$50,000
Significance
The dollar amount of Rhodes’ Palantir stock ($1,001-$15,000) is modest. The significance is not the size of the holding but the scope of the authority. Rhodes does not make procurement decisions for one agency – he makes procurement rules for all of them. A single OFPP policy memo can reshape competition requirements across the federal government, affecting billions of dollars in contracts.
Consider the leverage: if OFPP issues guidance encouraging agencies to use “other transaction” authorities (which bypass standard competitive procedures), that benefits companies like Palantir that have positioned themselves as sole-source providers. If OFPP raises or lowers thresholds for contract competition, that changes which Palantir contracts face competitive bidding. If OFPP issues guidance on data rights or interoperability standards, that affects whether agencies can switch away from Palantir’s platforms.
Rhodes is one of at least 142 Trump administration officials with Palantir financial ties. But his position makes him arguably the most structurally significant – he is the rulemaker for the game Palantir plays.