ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has terminated a lease for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office space in Ann Arbor. According to the “Wall of Receipts” on the DOGE website, the termination of the 4,800 square-foot space was issued on March 3, however it did not appear on the website until this week.
The office is no longer listed on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website. While details are limited, DOGE claims the cut will save the federal government $336,220 in total as the annual lease was for $86,301. DOGE does not list addresses for properties it says will be shuttered, but records show a USFWS office at 1451 Green Road in Ann Arbor.
The closure is the latest in a series of moves made by DOGE to cut costs in the federal government. The agency, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, was created through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January. DOGE has been tasked by Trump to begin modernizing “Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
Musk has directed DOGE employees to slash the budgets of numerous government agencies through staff cuts and the canceling of grants, contracts, and leases.
While DOGE claims to have saved the government $130 billion, the agency hasn’t provided hard evidence of the savings. Critics have pointed out some of the “savings” reported by DOGE are for grants or contracts that have already been paid out.
DOGE has previously announced lease cancellations for federal office spaces in several different areas of the state. A Social Security Administration office in Okemos has been closed, along with spaces in Baraga, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie and Traverse City.