Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken aim at the surplus of vacant office properties allocated to federal agencies.
The DOGE channel on X ran headline from the Washington Times that announced: “Nearly 90% of feds’ office in D.C. going to waste, government report finds.” The posting also included a message that stated: “Federal government agencies are using, on average, just 12% of the space in their DC headquarters. The Department of Agriculture, with space for more than 7,400 people, averaged 456 workers each day (6% occupancy). Why are American taxpayer dollars being spent to maintain empty buildings?”
President-elect Donald Trump tasked Musk to drive DOGE to identify wasteful spending within the federal government. Musk is joined by Vivek Ramaswamy, the tech industry entrepreneur and former candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, in leading the DOGE mission, has a deadline of July 4, 2026, to identify areas within the government that can be eliminated or severely limited.