Science Agency Leases in Limbo Amid Downsizing Drive by GSA and DOGE

Numerous federal science agency offices have appeared on the Trump administration’s shortlists for termination in recent weeks, though many have since been removed.

The General Services Administration initially published a list of 443 properties last month that it designated as “non-core properties for disposal.” Among the science buildings on the list were the Department of Energy’s headquarters in downtown DC as well as the DOE Office of Science’s headquarters in Germantown, Maryland. Also on the list were the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s offices in Silver Spring and Suitland, both in Maryland, and U.S. Geological Survey buildings in Virginia.

GSA stated that vacating buildings on the list would ensure taxpayer dollars are “no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces,” but took down the list a day later. GSA has since posted a new list of 16 properties along with an FAQ explaining that the agency pulled the longer list because it wanted to pursue a “more incremental approach” focusing on properties that had already been “evaluated” and maximize the sale value of the government’s real estate.

“Due to the overwhelming response that we received after publishing the first list, we are refining our process,” GSA stated.

Among the remaining buildings is a U.S. Department of Agriculture office in Riverdale, Maryland, which is slated to be vacated so that USDA can move to a “facility under their custody and control,” according to GSA. The list also includes the Joe L. Evins Federal Building in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which houses the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

Property disposals are the result of the Trump Administration’s executive order from February directing agency heads to identify leases eligible for termination. A subsequent memo from the Office of Personnel Management instructed agency heads to develop reorganization and workforce downsizing plans that include “any proposed relocations of agency bureaus and offices from Washington, DC, and the National Capital Region to less-costly parts of the country.” Those plans are due by April 14 and will go into effect in late September. The memo says agencies are to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to create their plans.

Separate from the GSA list, DOGE maintains a list of leases it has targeted for termination, which currently stands at more than 600 properties. The list includes buildings belonging to NOAA, USDA, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as well as over 30 USGS buildings across more than 20 states.

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-CA) criticized the lease terminations in late February, stating, “Many USGS locations need to be field-based to do important monitoring for things like earthquake and volcanic activity. They also operate stream gauges that provide critical flood warnings for cities and towns near rivers.”

Huffman joined Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) in a statement accusing the Trump administration of “disproportionately” responding to Republican representatives’ efforts to get buildings in their districts removed from DOGE’s closure list.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) touted in early March that he successfully negotiated with the Trump administration to reverse DOGE’s closure of several offices in his home state, including the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma.