How Elon Musk is Reshaping the Government’s Real Estate

Elon Musk’s overwhelming influence on the Trump administration is being felt far and wide, including in the federal government’s real estate holdings.

The “special government employee” is taking his cost-cutting initiative into the General Services Administration, the New York Times reported. Leaders of the agency, which manages the federal government’s real estate, are discussing cutting as much as 50 percent of its budget.

Last week, Musk stopped into the offices of the GSA with his son and nanny, meeting with the acting administrator, Stephen Ehikian. Following the meeting, Ehikian told staff to consider “zero based budgeting,” a reduction of budgeting and contracts to nothing before arguing to restore what’s necessary. It’s a tactic Musk deployed at Twitter.

On Tuesday, some employees at the agency were notified of plans to cut staff and reduce the GSA’s footprint, the New York Times reported. Workers were informed that Thursday’s deadline for federal government worker buyout deals — which are under scrutiny from unions — will only be the start of layoffs across government agencies.

Employees at the GSA seem resigned to their status and are using humor to get through, with some members of the agency referring to Musk’s team as “the Bobs,” a reference to the layoff-driven management consultants in the comedy “Office Space.”

The GSA oversees more than 360 million rentable square feet across the country and employs about 12,000 people.

When Donald Trump took office two weeks ago, his administration was reported to be considering the sale of two-thirds of the government’s office stock to the private sector. At the same time, Trump mandated the return of remote government workers to the office.

The cancellation of federal leases is one of many places where Musk is exerting power. His team claims they are saving the government more than $1 billion per day, though they’ve failed to show how.

— Holden Walter-Warner