GSA reverses lease terminations for some GAO offices doing national security work

The General Services Administration walked back terminations of some privately-owned buildings leased to the Government Accountability Office where employees conduct oversight of sensitive national security programs, according to an email obtained by Nextgov/FCW.

The GAO’s Atlanta, Huntsville and Norfolk field offices have been removed from the termination list, reversing a move made last week that would have canceled the leases of those buildings later this year. GAO has been informed of the offices' removal from that list, an agency spokesperson told Nextgov/FCW, adding that the office remains committed to its mission of supporting Congress in carrying out its constitutional duties.

The Huntsville unit’s lease was set to be canned effective Aug. 31, while the watchdog agency’s Atlanta and Norfolk offices’ leases would have been canceled effective Sept. 30, Nextgov/FCW previously reported.

The lease termination dates for Atlanta, Huntsville and Norfolk will now remain at August 2029, January 2026 and December 2028, respectively, per the email sent to GAO staff on Tuesday.

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, a person familiar with the cancellations previously said. GAO traditionally obtains office space through GSA, the latter of which holds the actual lease.

The Huntsville office typically focuses on weapons systems, while the Norfolk and Atlanta offices have teams that examine logistics, sustainment and manpower aspects of the Defense Department, the person familiar also added.

A memo viewed by Nextgov/FCW last week said that regional GSA offices no longer have the authority to extend leases and that it’s unclear whether GAO will be able to maintain a presence at its Dayton and Seattle offices, whose leases respectively expire on Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. The statuses of the Dayton and Seattle locations were not immediately known.

The Dayton office, in particular, focuses heavily on the Air Force, including classified research on next generation flight platforms, the person said.

GAO regularly releases oversight reports that call out dubious or extravagant spending on defense programs. Among several other areas, GAO also examines the cybersecurity of the Defense Department. The watchdog noted 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 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.

GSA did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include comment from GAO.