GSA lease terminations hit GAO offices doing national security work

The General Services Administration is terminating leases for privately-owned buildings used by the Government Accountability Office to conduct oversight of sensitive U.S. defense and national security programs, according to a person familiar with the matter and a GAO union memo obtained by Nextgov/FCW.

Those locations include GAO’s Huntsville office, whose lease is set to be canceled effective Aug. 31, according to the memo. The watchdog agency’s Atlanta and Norfolk offices’ leases will be cancelled effective Sept. 30, it adds. 

Regional GSA offices no longer have the authority to extend leases, the memo also says, adding that it’s unclear whether GAO will be able to maintain presence at its Dayton and Seattle offices, whose leases respectively expire on Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. GAO traditionally obtains office space through GSA, the latter of which holds the actual lease.

GAO, the government’s primary watchdog agency, conducts much of its work on sensitive national security matters in these buildings, many of which have spaces augmented to securely share and exchange classified information, the person familiar with the cancellations said. The person was granted anonymity for fear of retribution and to be candid about their understanding of GAO’s work.

The moves will likely impact GAO’s ability to conduct oversight of the spending and operations of several defense programs, the person added. The Dayton office, in particular, focuses heavily on the Air Force, including classified research on next generation flight platforms, the person said. The Dayton and Huntsville units also focus on weapons systems, while the Norfolk and Atlanta offices have teams that examine logistics, sustainment and manpower aspects of the Defense Department.

GAO regularly releases oversight reports that call out dubious or overextensive spending on defense programs. Among several other areas, GAO also examines the cybersecurity of the Defense Department, and said last June that one particular DOD agency did not follow standard cybersecurity protocols to protect its IT systems and the sensitive personal data it stores.

The memo notes that GAO has no plans to close field offices or reduce staff and that management is exploring options to remain in their current offices or secure alternate space.

The lease cancellations are part of a broader move under the Trump administration and its affiliated Department of Government Efficiency to reduce purported government spending waste. DOGE, a non-agency cost-cutting unit in the White House tied to billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk, has already moved to terminate leases that house weather forecasting units in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

CPR News, a local Colorado news station, reported last week that the government plans to sell some 20 buildings it owns in the state. Some 750 federal land leases have been canned under DOGE, and GSA has been put at the top of DOGE’s “Agency Efficiency Leaderboard” on its website.