Following his White House takeover, Donald Trump, along with Elon Musk and his DOGE, has been trying to reshape the federal government; from laying off workers to cutting off funds, now the president is focusing on putting non-core buildings on sale.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump‘s administration published a list of federal properties for sale, which had 440 entries identified to offload potentially. The list included some of the country’s most recognizable buildings, including the FBI headquarters, the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice, the Old Post Office building, and more. These properties have been identified as “not core to government operations” and thus put up for sale under DOGE cutbacks.
However, only hours later, Trump took down the list, replacing it with another one that only contained 320 entries, excluding all previously listed buildings in Washington, D.C. By Wednesday morning, the whole list disappeared, leaving many wondering about Trump and Musk’s next move.
The web page that previously published the list now shows “the Non-core property list (Coming Soon).” When asked for a comment, The General Service Administration, who released the list, did not respond reportedly. However, the Associated Press obtained an email addressed to staffers. In the email, the GSA’s buildings division provided some insights into why it was promptly removed, claiming that it generated “an overwhelming amount of interest.”
GSA added that the list of federal properties on sale will be republished in the “near future,” while the agency “evaluate the initial input and determine how they can make it easier for stakeholders to understand the nuances of the assets listed.”
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale,” GSA noted. The agency further added that it “will consider compelling offers,” keeping in mind the best for the taxpayer and the federal government.
“We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal. Selling the properties ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal space.”
GSA buildings division added that it “helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.”
A map of the 400+ federal buildings that DOGE listed to be sold (before taking down the list).
They include architectural landmarks & buildings that sound kind of important, like the center holding the IRS master database. @WIRED https://t.co/9Rin26owlJ pic.twitter.com/OD2ULAQHTg— Alec Luhn (@AlecLuhn) March 5, 2025
Apart from the FBI headquarters, the DOJ building, and the Old Post Office, the initial list also included the American Red Cross headquarters, the Department of Labor, the Urban Development building, and the Department of Housing. Outside of Washington, the now-removed list deemed Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Indiana, the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco, the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, and the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York as non-core to government operations.
As around 80% of America’s 2.4 million federal employees are based outside of metropolitan Washington, D.C., the list sparked concerns among local officials.
The list is just the latest action to fulfil the new DOGE agenda of reshaping the federal government. Elon Musk and Donald Trump have been working hard to shrink government funding. They claim that putting these designated assets for sale could save hundreds of millions of dollars while also redefining the major Cabinet agencies funded by Congress. Last month, GSA’s Washington headquarters instructed the regional managers to start cease leases on roughly 7500 federal buildings nationwide.
