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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been tapped by the Trump administration to shrink the size of the federal government, said it had already saved millions of dollars by terminating leases for about 2.3 million square feet of federal office space.
In total, the department announced estimated savings of $55 billion, achieved through a combination of "fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancellations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings."
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has described the federal government as "bloated" and full of "people that are unnecessary." He has made reducing its size one of his administration's priorities. The president has initiated mass layoffs of federal employees, saying too much government money is lost to waste and fraud.
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Earlier this month, the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal property and provides contracting options for government agencies, said it was planning to sell half of the federal property it manages.
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What To Know
As of February 17, the savings obtained by DOGE's terminations of federal office leases total $144,574,545, according to the nongovernmental task force's latest data. DOGE updates its data twice per week.
Some of the agencies affected by these lease terminations have been moved to federal space, some have closed offices, and a few have remained in the buildings they're leasing until the terminations become effective.
The numbers provided by DOGE confirm earlier reports on federal lease cancellations across the country. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that regional managers for the GSA received a message from the agency's Washington headquarters ordering them to begin terminating leases on all federal offices nationwide, about 7,500.
"Lease terminations are the clear priority at this time," said a note from a senior GSA manager dated January 29 and obtained by the AP. As of September, the GSA owned and leased more than 363 million square feet of space in 8,397 buildings across the country, its website said.
Since Trump's inauguration on January 20, federal workers across several agencies have been laid off, and tens of thousands of federal employees have accepted his administration's offer to resign and receive six months of wages.
Here is DOGE's list of the terminations of federal office leases and their corresponding savings.
What People Are Saying
Lucy Kitchin, who heads Transwestern's government services group, told Bisnow: "These were probably not surprises for the building owners, given that typical negotiations for GSA leases that are expiring commence at the latest 12 months prior to expiration but typically 24 to 18 months prior."
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the federal judiciary's administrative arm, wrote in an internal memo dated February 13: "The AO is currently working to respond to GSA's inquiry and provide justification for each of these locations [affected by lease terminations] and intends to work with GSA to ensure that Judiciary operations in each of these locations can continue undisturbed."
What Happens Next
The Trump administration's mass firings and budget cuts are expected to continue, with the next layoffs expected to involve the U.S.'s defense agencies.
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