Will DOGE close more federal offices in Idaho? These 4 leases are slated to be terminated
Four federal offices in Idaho could close as a part of President Donald Trump’s mission to reduce the federal government’s real estate portfolio.
The General Services Administration, an agency that manages such real estate, along with Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by Elon Musk, has notified landlords that federal agencies will terminate hundreds of leases for offices and buildings across the country in the next several months, the Associated Press reported.
The canceled leases include a 44,623-square-foot space near Interstate 84 in West Boise occupied by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The agency, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is responsible for protecting and promoting agricultural health, regulating genetically engineered organisms, managing wildlife damage and administering the Animal Welfare Act, according to its website. A spokesperson for the USDA did not respond to a phone call inquiring about the lease cancellation.
The lease at 9134 W. Black Eagle Drive is expected to be canceled June 30, according to an internal General Services Administration planning document obtained by the Associated Press.
The document, dated March 10, lists when most of the terminations would take effect, but that doesn’t mean all the offices will close by those dates. Agencies would either have to negotiate a new lease or move elsewhere if they remain open, the AP reported.
The list also includes a 5,179-square-foot office of the Federal Highway Administration at 3050 N. Lakeharbor Lane No. 126 off State Street in Northwest Boise. That lease, and a 13-681-square-foot site occupied by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration in Idaho Falls, are expected to be canceled Aug. 31.
Public affairs officials for the agencies did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
One other lease in Idaho, for the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Lapwai, which is just south of Moscow in North Idaho, would be canceled Sept. 30.
