Trump administration terminates 16 federal office leases in Wisconsin

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More than a dozen federal office leases have been terminated early in Wisconsin.

That’s according to the Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk. The office said it canceled leases at 16 properties across the state, including offices for agencies that oversee highways, courts, social security, food and indigenous affairs.

DOGE has posted a list of axed agency locations nationwide on its website. The office locations were cross referenced with a list of properties under the General Services Administration, last updated in January 2025.

The canceled leases had a combined 103,920 square feet and made up roughly 18.4% of federally leased space in Wisconsin, GSA data showed. The canceled leases saved more than $5.79 million in Wisconsin, data from DOGE’s website showed.

The cuts are part of a broad effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to significantly slash the size of the federal government.

There was some confusion over whether all the leases were canceled. The DOGE website has posted erroneous information previously about federal government cuts it later had to retract, although the information about the canceled leases was still live on Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday, GSA Public Buildings Service officials said in a release they were terminating “non-core” spaces as part of the divestment effort. Officials said slashing non-essential offices and other assets would potentially save more than $430 million in annual operating costs.

GSA owns and maintains over 440 non-core assets comprising almost 80 million rentable square feet across the nation and representing over $8.3 billion in recapitalization needs, officials said.

“GSA’s decisive action to dispose of non-core assets leverages the private sector, drives improvement for our agency customers and best serves local communities,” officials added.

Some of the terminated leases on DOGE’s list include offices for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Labor Relations Board and an Office of U.S. Attorneys. In Ashland, a 34,970-square-foot office leased by the Bureau of Indian Affairs is on the cut list.

“The Department of Interior is committed to upholding federal responsibilities to tribal communities,” a spokesperson for the BIA said. “Indian Affairs offices remain open and continue to provide services. The Department of Interior is working with GSA to ensure facilities will be available for the continued delivery of BIA services,” they added.

The Daily Reporter found which leases were likely terminated by matching DOGE data with a list of federal government lease agreements shared by GSA. The full list of Wisconsin federal leases listed by DOGE as terminated are:

• 111 W. Pleasant St., Milwaukee – A lease for 7,322 square feet of office space used by the Defense Contract Management Agency, which was set to expire in 2025.
• 4511 Helgesen Drive, Madison – A lease for 2,871 square feet of office space for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The lease was set to expire in 2030.
• 125 S. Jefferson St., Green Bay – A lease for 976 square feet of office space for the Social Security Administration, which was set to expire in 2026.
• 1004 E. 1st St., Merrill – A lease for 393 square feet of office space for the Defense Contract Management Agency. The lease was set to expire in 2026.
• 425 State St., La Crosse – A lease for 2,165 square feet of office space for the Internal Revenue Service, which was set to expire in 2025.
• 916 Lake Shore Drive, Ashland – A lease for 34,970 square feet for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which was set to expire in 2028.
• 1415 E. Green Bay St., Shawano – A lease for 1,990 square feet for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which was set to expire in 2025.
• 1 Point Place, Madison – A lease for 2,477 square feet of office space for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which was set to expire in 2028.
• 205 Doty St., Green Bay – A lease for 5,364 square feet of office space for the Office of U.S. Attorneys, which was set to expire in 2025.
• 5417 Clem’s Way, Stevens Point – A lease for 15,843 square feet for the Rural Housing Service. The lease was set to expire in 2027.
• 740 Regent St., Madison – A lease for 1,486 square feet of office space for Departmental Management, which was set to expire in 2029.
• 700 Regent St., Madison – A lease for 2,975 square feet of office space for the Food and Drug Administration, which was set to expire in 2027.
• 525 Junction Road, Madison – A lease for 6,254 square feet of office space for the Federal Highway Administration, which was set to expire in 2027.
• 2675 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa – A lease for 6,757 square feet of office space for the Food and Drug Administration, which was set to expire in 2028.
• 500 N. 1st St., Wausau – A lease for 1,851 square feet of office space for the Social Security Administration, which was set to expire in 2026.
• 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee – A lease for 10,226 square feet of office space for the National Labor Relations Board, which was set to expire in 2026.

The total number of canceled federal office leases across the nation doubled in February, with more than 254 leases and 3.8 million square feet of space, according to CoStar. As of publication, all states except Rhode Island and Indiana have been impacted.

The U.S. General Services Administration implemented a strategy to ensure efficient use of property and reduce the federal government’s footprint in 2015, according to its website. DOGE, created in the wake of Donald Trump‘s January inauguration, has rapidly accelerated efforts to shrink the amount of space leased by various federal agencies across the country.

DOGE has claimed its cuts to federal spending have saved the country billions, but the agency has struggled to catalog the alleged savings, according to the New York Times. Over the weekend, DOGE deleted hundreds of erroneous claims about supposed savings related to canceled contracts, totaling $4 billion.

Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly said DOGE’s efforts are being led by Musk, while the administration’s lawyers have argued in court Musk is simply an advisor to the president, according to NBC News.

Eric Casey, managing editor of the Worcester Business Journal, also contributed to this report.