Windsor resident Edward Forst would have had a terrific excuse for getting out of jury duty last week. Instead, he moved a few things around so he could report to the County Courthouse in Vero Beach last Monday for jury service – then also get sworn in here to one of Washington’s top jobs.
Forst, a 23-year island resident, philanthropist and president of the local Harvard Club, was one of more than 100 people confirmed by the Senate recently for a high-level post in the Trump Administration. He will head up the Government Services Administration, which oversees the federal government’s vast real estate holdings, facilities, procurement and $110 billion in federal contracts.
Currently CEO of Lion Capital, Forst brings four decades of executive-level financial experience to the GSA position. He previously advised the Secretary of the Treasury and served as president and CEO at Cushman and Wakefield, and on the management committee at Goldman Sachs, where he was co-head of the Investment Management Division, executive vice president and chief administrative officer.
Senators finally approved Forst’s new job, along with a backlog of dozens of others, before their Christmas break. With no time to arrange a swearing-in in Washington, and his jury duty notice requiring him to be at the Indian River County Courthouse last Monday morning, Forst sought a Plan B.
Any Notary Public can swear-in a federal official, and Indian River Shores Mayor Brian Foley got to know Forst through their mutual volunteer work and offered his services and the Shores Town Hall to make the ceremony happen.
“I wouldn’t call us buddies, but I served with Ed on the Distinguished Lecture Series and was impressed by him,” Foley said.
The event was scheduled to take place on Christmas Eve and be live-streamed on the town’s YouTube channel.
“I’m honored that President Trump put his trust in me and I thank Mayor Foley for taking the time to swear me in as GSA Administrator on such short notice,” Forst said. “Over the past four months I’ve met with GSA employees, listened to what’s working well and what we can be doing better. I’m fired up to get to work and proud to start serving in President Trump’s Administration for the American people.”
Forst will lead a team of more than 12,000 federal employees. He is tasked with bringing more government efficiency and accountability to the GSA to better serve American taxpayers.
