US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are pushing forward with their plan to reduce government employees and limit federal operations. A key part of this effort involves cutting down on office space by using the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency responsible for managing thousands of federal workplaces across the country.

Last week, GSA’s headquarters in Washington sent a message to its regional managers, instructing them to start cancelling leases for all 7,500 federal office spaces nationwide. This information comes from an email shared with The Associated Press by a GSA employee. The decision appears to be in conflict with Trump's own call for federal employees to return to the office, which further complicates the GSA's already difficult task of locating office space, internet access and security credentials for building security for workers who had been working remotely for years. It could, however, be a reflection of the Trump administration's perception that it will require fewer offices as a result of its efforts to terminate staff members or persuade them to resign.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is like the federal government's real estate manager, taking care of government properties for different agencies. It was created by President Harry S. Truman in 1949 to simplify the process of finding office spaces for federal employees, a job that was previously managed by multiple organisations. After World War II, the GSA was responsible for selling off surplus war materials and storing essential supplies for future emergencies. Today, it provides office spaces for over a million federal workers, helps maintain historic buildings, and oversees government purchases from private companies. According to the agency's website, as of last fall, GSA owned and leased more than 363 million square feet of space in 8,397 buildings throughout more than 2,200 cities across the country. Courthouses, post offices, and data processing facilities are among these properties.

Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are focusing on the General Services Administration (GSA). Last week, GSA headquarters in Washington sent an email instructing regional managers to start ending leases for around 7,500 federal office spaces across the country. According to an email from a senior GSA manager on January 29, ending leases is the top priority right now. A copy of this email was shared with the Associated Press by a GSA employee. In a follow-up meeting, regional managers were told that the goal is to cancel up to 300 leases every day, according to the employee, who requested to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation. 

Nicole Hollander, who has been embedded in the GSA offices in recent days, is spearheading the initiative, the employee told the AP. On her LinkedIn profile, Hollander describes herself as a former X employee with experience in real estate in the Washington area. Her X account, which shows she joined in March 2015 but only has posts starting from September 2023, is filled with updates about X's real estate acquisitions and details about auctions of items from Twitter's former offices after Musk took over the platform. Trump has instructed the General Services Administration (GSA) to focus on promoting beautiful federal buildings. He prefers traditional architectural styles over modern or less classical designs.

After his victory in November, Trump chose not to sign an agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA) during the transition period. This agreement would have allowed his team access to secure government offices and email accounts. He refused because it would have required him to limit contributions to $5,000 and disclose the names of those donating to his transition efforts. In late November, two months after the deadline, Trump finally reached an agreement with President Joe Biden's White House. This agreement allowed his transition team to work with the current federal staff before Trump took office on January 20.