The Trump administration is taking significant steps to reduce the federal government’s real estate holdings as part of a broader effort to downsize. The Department of Government Efficiency has helped accelerate the process, and figurative “for sale” signs could be appearing on federal buildings in Washington and across the country in the near future.

The administration plans to sell off government properties they say are largely unused and costly to maintain.

“The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into wasteful empty office buildings and luxurious high-end furniture, which they, the American taxpayers, can’t even afford themselves,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said during a DOGE subcommittee hearing this week.

The hearing was held in one of the very buildings the government is looking to offload.

The subcommittee has been examining the issue, noting the substantial funds allocated to office spaces even as remote work became prevalent. John Hart, CEO of government watchdog Open the Books, highlighted the spending during the pandemic.

“During the peak years of the COVID emergency, from 2020 to 2022, agencies spent $3.3 billion on furniture even as work migrated to Zoom,” Hart said during his testimony.

Open the Books reported that spending included a single Securities and Exchange Commission conference room costing $700,000 to furnish, while the State Department spent $1.4 million on artwork. Since 2021, $4.6 billion has been spent on furniture, according to the group.

DOGE’s website says it has already canceled 676 leases, resulting in $400 million in savings. Initially, the General Services Administration listed more than 400 buildings for sale last month, but that list has been removed, and now 16 buildings are currently up for sale. The original list included several agency headquarters.

Critics say the downsizing is being done too hastily.

“The idea of just putting out a list of hundreds of federal properties including some of the most valuable real estate in Washington DC on the federal mall, including the headquarters of every major federal agency, is not a planning process, that is a fire sale,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said during the hearing.

Maintaining the federal government’s portfolio of more than 270,000 buildings costs about $10 billion annually. While downsizing has had bipartisan support in the past, critics argue the process of shedding excess real estate has been too slow.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Galka at mjgalka@sbgtv.com.