DOGE names 20 federal offices, including 2 in Charlotte, among NC lease cancellations
.JPG "Elon Musk speaks as President Donald Trump looks on in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11, 2025.")
Cuts instituted by an Elon Musk-run agency may shut down some federal offices across North Carolina, including in Charlotte.
Leases for a pair of Charlotte offices, one part of the U.S. Geological Survey and the other part of the Environmental Protection Agency, are listed as terminated on the “wall of receipts” on the website of the tech billionaire’s Department of Government Efficiency. They’re two of 20 federal offices in North Carolina on the list as of Friday.
DOGE claims to have cut more than $100 billion in federal spending through eliminating “fraud and improper payment,” layoffs, asset sales, grant cancellations, “programmatic changes,” “regulatory savings” and contract and lease cancellations and renegotiations.
But it’s also removed or altered more than 1,000 claims of savings on its website due to errors, The New York Times reported.
The futures of the listed Charlotte facilities remain unclear, with spokespersons for multiple federal agencies not answering questions about the accuracy of DOGE’s list and the fate of North Carolina offices.
Is DOGE shutting down federal offices in Charlotte?
Offices of the USGS and EPA are both included in DOGE’s list of terminated leases.
The USGS office in Charlotte is a field office of the South Atlantic Water Science Center — responsible for studying and monitoring water issues in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina — on Tyvola Road. DOGE’s website says it has an annual lease cost of $104,520.
The EPA office in Charlotte is a branch of the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, where agents police environmental crime. The annual lease cost for the office, on Fairview Road, is listed on DOGE’s website as $67,647.
Calls to both offices from an Observer reporter went unanswered Friday. A call to the USGS office lasted one ring before disconnecting, and the EPA office’s line went to voicemail.
A USGS spokesperson directed questions to the U.S. General Services Administration but said in a statement the agency is working “to ensure facilities or alternative options will be available for the continued delivery of USGS services as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management.”
A spokesperson for the EPA declined to confirm the Charlotte office closure or answer Observer questions about whether the office, and its staff, would be relocated, also directing questions to the GSA.
A GSA spokesperson told the Observer in a statement that did not directly address the Charlotte offices the agency “is reviewing all options to optimize our footprint and building utilization,” including terminating “many soft term leases.”
“To the extent these terminations affect public facing facilities and/or existing tenants, we are working with our agency partners to secure suitable alternative space,” the statement said. “In many cases this will allow us to increase space utilization and obtain improved terms.”
The spokesperson did not immediately respond to follow-up questions seeking North Carolina-specific details.
More NC federal offices on DOGE list
A quartet of North Carolina Social Security Administration offices — in Roanoke Rapids, Elizabeth City, Franklin and Greenville — are also on DOGE’s list, prompting concern from some retirees.
“It would be so detrimental to everyone who lives here and is on Social Security or who needs to go in there to sign up or has a question on Social Security,” retiree Cathy Howman told Smoky Mountain News of the Franklin office appearing on the list. “I mean, where would they go?”
Other federal offices across North Carolina on DOGE’s list as of Friday include:
An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in Greensboro
A Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Greensboro
A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Raleigh
A Departmental Management of the Office of Inspector General office in Raleigh
A Small Business Administration office in Greensboro
A Corp of Civil Engineers office in Wilmington
A Farm Service Agency county office in Hendersonville
An Employment Standards Administration office in Raleigh
An Internal Revenue Service National Office in Wilmington
A Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Goldsboro
An Internal Revenue Service National Office in Fayetteville
An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Raleigh
A Farm Service Agency county office in Wilkesboro
A Food and Drug Administration office in Greensboro
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "DOGE names 20 federal offices, including 2 in Charlotte, among NC lease cancellations."
