By Steve Neavling
The Trump administration is considering selling several high-profile federal properties, including the headquarters of the FBI and Department of Justice, as part of a broader effort to shrink the size of the government.
The General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees federal buildings, announced Tuesday that it had identified 443 properties totaling more than 80 million square feet that “are not core to government operations” and could be sold. Among the most notable buildings under review are the DOJ headquarters and the FBI’s aging J. Edgar Hoover Building, which has long been considered outdated.
The potential sale appears to be part of President Donald Trump’s push to reduce the federal government’s footprint, a campaign spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The effort has already led to 100,000 government employees either accepting buyouts or being laid off.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has claimed that these measures have saved $105 billion, in part by canceling government leases. However, budget analysts have questioned the accuracy of the agency’s figures.
In a statement, the GSA said it “could no longer hope” to secure the funding needed to modernize many of these properties, adding that a sale could reduce annual operating costs by more than $430 million.
The fate of the FBI headquarters remains uncertain. In 2023, the GSA announced plans to relocate the bureau to a new facility in Maryland, but it is unclear how the proposed sale might impact that project. The DOJ’s headquarters is also on the list, raising questions about where the department would be housed if the sale moves forward.
Other federal properties under review include the Old Post Office, which once housed Trump’s luxury hotel, and the headquarters of agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, and Veterans Administration. The list also includes government skyscrapers in Chicago, Atlanta, and Cleveland, as well as IRS processing centers set to be sold after the April tax filing season.
The GSA has not provided details on how many of the identified buildings will ultimately be sold or what price they might fetch. The agency, along with several departments whose headquarters could be affected, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
