The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a newly established agency under the Trump administration, has continued its efforts to reduce federal spending by canceling government leases across the country, FOX Business reports.
The latest wave of terminations has affected seven commercial properties in central Massachusetts, impacting federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
According to a Worcester Business Journal report, the canceled leases in central Massachusetts account for 60,182 square feet of office space, with a combined annual cost of $1.34 million. This represents 37% of the federal government’s leased space in the region, as reported by the General Services Administration (GSA).
Local property owners, including Christopher Egan, president of Carruth Capital in Westborough, have voiced their concerns over the cancellations.
“We’ve been DOGE-ed,” Egan commented.
The lease terminations in Massachusetts are part of a broader initiative by DOGE to scale back the federal government’s footprint. Since 2023, the GSA has already eliminated 18 million square feet of leased space. Recent data from DOGE indicates that as of last month, the agency had achieved $100 million in lease reductions nationwide, with $97 million of those cuts affecting office spaces.
A report from CoStar suggests that the number of canceled federal office leases has doubled since February, affecting all states except Rhode Island and Indiana.
DOGE’s website reports an estimated $65 billion in total savings through a combination of:
- Fraud detection and elimination
- Contract and lease cancellations or renegotiations
- Asset sales
- Grant cancellations
- Workforce reductions
- Regulatory changes
The website provides a detailed breakdown of lease and contract cancellations, totaling approximately $12.75 billion as of February 24. However, the remaining $43 billion in savings is not fully explained on the platform.
