DOGE Announces Termination of Leases for 30 FDA Locations in 22 States

The cost-saving measure comes after Trump signed an order asking agencies to review their contracts and cut down wasteful spending.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak, Md., on June 5, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has announced the termination of leases for multiple Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sites across the country, as part of the initiative’s attempt to cut costs in the federal government.

According to a March 5 update from DOGE, 748 property leases were terminated, totaling over 9.5 million square feet and amounting to around $468 million in lease savings.

That includes ending leases at 30 FDA locations, with combined annual lease costs of over $8.62 million. The cancellation of the leases will save more than $29.61 million, according to DOGE. The figure could indicate cost savings over the various lease terms.

The 30 leases covered 247,399 square foot area across 22 states—Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, California, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, Utah, North Carolina, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Nebraska.

California ranked at the top of the list, with five FDA sites subjected to lease terminations. Florida, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Tennessee each saw the leases of two sites discontinued. The remaining 17 states had one lease termination each.

DOGE said the advisory body is “working to upload all of our receipts in a digestible and transparent manner consistent with applicable rules and regulations.”

Other departments subject to lease cancellations include the General Services Administration, the Department of State, the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Government Accountability Office, the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Archives Centers, Geological Survey, Federal Trade Commission, and Small Business Administration.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 26 entitled “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative.”

The order instructed government agencies to review all contracts and grants for “waste, fraud, and abuse” as soon as possible.

The review is to be completed within 30 days of the order. It aims to ensure that government spending is transparent and that employees are “accountable to the American public.”

Regarding real estate leases, the order stipulated that “each Agency Head shall promptly identify all termination rights the Agency Head may have under existing leases of Government-owned real property.”

Each agency head must then consult with its DOGE team lead and the Administrator of General Services or his designee to “determine whether to exercise such rights.”

DOGE has reported an estimated $105 billion in savings as of March 5, according to official data. This comes to a per-taxpayer saving of over $652.

The savings were achieved through various means, including contract/lease cancellations and re-negotiations, asset sales, and workforce reductions.

New Leadership

The FDA leases are terminated at a time when the agency is under new leadership. With a new administration in the White House, former FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf was succeeded by Dr. Sara Brenner, a preventative medicine physician who currently serves as acting head of the agency. John Hopkins surgeon Dr. Marty Makary is poised to become the next FDA commissioner, pending Senate confirmation.

In mid-February, the Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which manages 13 agencies including the FDA.

Kennedy vowed to implement major changes throughout the department. He had earlier criticized the influence that large companies and private corporations have on the FDA and other agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Agriculture.

“I understand that it is the system and not the people in it; that is the main problem,” he said last month. Reshaping agencies under the HHS “will recover their reputations as unimpeachable sources of scientific information to guide policy-making medical professionals, the public, and the whole world.”

“We will remove conflicts of interest on the committees and research partners when possible, or balance them with other stakeholders,” he said.

Kennedy vowed to make the department’s data and policy process “so transparent that people won’t even have to file a FOIA request.”