A senior White House adviser who supervised federal procurement activity participated in and oversaw government contract matters that involved companies backed by a venture capital fund in which he held an investment, according to federal records, financial disclosures and people familiar with the matter.
The adviser, Josh Gruenbaum, a former DOGE recruit who led purchasing operations at the General Services Administration's Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), reported an investment of between $100,001 and $250,000 in a Thrive Capital fund in March 2025.
Ten months after that disclosure, the FAS issued a $1.8 million sole-source contract to Databricks, an artificial intelligence company backed by Thrive, the records show. Separately, those familiar with the matter said Gruenbaum had been involved in discussions connected to a bid by Ramp, another portfolio company of the same venture firm.
Gruenbaum has told officials he disclosed the investment, coordinated with ethics personnel and formally recused himself from matters involving the fund's portfolio companies. He provided documentation that he said showed ethics approval for the investment and the steps he took to remove himself from related contract decisions, according to the available records.
Those records and disclosures indicate a timeline in which a personal investment preceded subsequent government action involving firms supported by the same venture fund. The documents referenced by people familiar with the situation were used to substantiate his disclosure and the claimed recusal.
Friday was Gruenbaum's final day in the administration, the materials show.
Context and chronology
The sequence set out in public filings and the cited records is straightforward: an investment was recorded in March 2025; a sole-source contract to a Thrive-backed AI company followed approximately ten months later; and separate discussions involving another Thrive portfolio firm were reported during that period. Ethics paperwork provided by the adviser is included among the documents cited.
Official response
The adviser has stated that he followed required disclosure procedures and that ethics officials reviewed and approved his holding and the steps taken to avoid involvement in contract decisions related to the fund's portfolio. The records include documentation he shared to support that account.
Current status
The adviser departed the administration at the end of last week, bringing an end to his formal role overseeing the Federal Acquisition Service's purchasing operations.