Jim Carroll, former Trump official, to lead Professional Services Council
Carroll takes over for David Berteau, who headed the trade association for over nine years.
Jim Carroll, then the Director of Office of National Drug Control Policy listens during a news briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — The Professional Services Council (PSC), a leading trade group for government contractors, announced today that former Trump official Jim Carroll will take the reins of the organization.
Carroll takes over for David Berteau, who headed the trade association for over nine years, starting on May 19.
“Jim Carroll’s exceptional track record in public service, corporate governance, and policy advocacy makes him the ideal leader to guide PSC into its next chapter,” Zachary Parker, chair of the PSC board of directors, said in an announcement. “The Board and I look forward to working with Jim.”
Carroll served in several roles during the George W. Bush administration but is most notable for his time with Trump’s first administration — experience a number of Washington groups are looking to find at this moment.
From 2016 to 2018, Carroll served as Principal Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy White House Counsel, and General Counsel of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, according to a PSC release. Afterwards, he served as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a high-profile role given the administration’s focus on opioids. He most recently worked at the law firm Frost Brown Todd.
The move comes at a time when the Trump administration, and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) group, have taken aim at government contractors. In the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the cancellation of over $5 billion in outside IT contracts, and seeks to bring that work in house — a move Berteau recently told Breaking Defense is unlikely to work out.
“When comparing fully burdened costs, contractors can actually be more cost-effective in certain scenarios, especially when considering the overhead associated with expanding permanent federal staff,” Berteau said in that report. “Contractors bring flexibility and agility, which are essential in rapidly changing technological environments. Contractors can be brought in quickly, adapt to specialized needs and scale projects up or down efficiently.”
Berteau steps down after leading the trade group since March 2016. He previously served as assistant secretary of defense for logistics and material readiness in the Obama administration, and as a senior vice president with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
