Staff at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Washington have been informed they must relocate their offices to the building recently vacated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), multiple sources familiar with the matter have confirmed to Bloomberg.
The order reportedly originates from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a team led by Elon Musk that President Donald Trump has tasked with shrinking the federal workforce. The move, which was disclosed to FTC staff on Wednesday, comes as the administration targets USAID for closure, having already placed the agency’s 10,000 employees on administrative leave and canceled numerous contracts.
The majority of the antitrust and consumer protection agency’s 1,300 employees currently work out of a building in Washington that also houses other federal agencies. While the FTC’s existing 10-year lease on the space expired last year, it had been extended for three years through 2027.
The FTC’s headquarters, which houses the agency’s five commissioners and senior leadership, is located in a separate government building a few blocks away from the USAID building and is not affected by the move.
The General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for leasing office space for federal agencies, had sought congressional approval for a new 20-year lease for the FTC. The Senate approved the lease request in November, but the House had yet to vote on the matter. As of Thursday, the GSA’s list of leased office space indicated the FTC’s lease was set to expire on Friday.
The Trump administration, alongside Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, has been vocal about their desire to shut down USAID. Recent actions include the mass administrative leave of USAID employees and the cancellation of contracts impacting projects globally. USAID employees were instructed this week to remove their personal belongings from the organization’s headquarters.
The DOGE’s website boasts savings of over $11 million by ending the FTC lease in Washington. However, the website lacks details on how these savings were calculated. According to the GSA, the FTC currently pays $13.6 million annually for its office space under the existing lease terms. When the FTC last relocated offices in 2013, the move and outfitting of the new space cost some $75 million.
