Elon Musk’s movements around Washington, D.C., last week are causing speculation about potential cuts to the federal government's workforce and real estate portfolio of owned buildings and leased space in private-sector buildings under the auspices of the Department of Government Efficiency.

Last week, Musk visited General Services Administration headquarters in Washington, causing speculation that real estate right-sizing activity could be imminent, according to an article in The New York Times. DOGE so far has focused on terminating leases on underutilized federal offices, which are managed by GSA. The agency recently announced it had already terminated three such leases for a savings of $1.6 million. The government leases more than 7,500 spaces that could be targeted by DOGE.

Stephen Ehikian, recently appointed acting GSA administrator, announced last week that two of the agency’s properties will be listed for sale in a ‘first step’ to cutting real-estate expenditures, according to the article. GSA also recently appointed Michael Peters as commissioner of the Public Buildings Service, which will play a role in managing cost-effective workspace solutions for federal agency customers.