The future of several prominent federal buildings in California, providing resources to a wide range of state residents, is at risk as the Trump administration aims to reduce the footprint of central governments across the country with cost-cutting efforts.
Of the hundreds of federal properties potentially listed in chopping blocks for closing or sale earlier this month, at least 16 were in California. But given the chaotic pattern of the Trump administration making a policy announcement and then turning the course back, nothing is certain.
Above one million square feet, it is one of the largest federal buildings in the country to be first included on the list of “Named Real Estates for Disposal” published Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of General Services. Key tenants include the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Internal Revenue Service, the US Housing and Urban Development Agency, and the US Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency.
According to an agency notification last week, “We are identifying buildings or facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core property for disposal.” “Sales ensure that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent in vacant or underutilized federal space. Disposal of these assets eliminates expensive maintenance and allows us to reinvest in a high-quality work environment that supports our agency’s mission.”
A few hours after the list of properties was posted online, over 100 wore but 16 California properties included. Please note that the list will then be removed from the GSA website and a “non-core property list” will “appear soon”.
A GSA spokesperson said the initial list was published to meet President Trump’s goals regarding federal workplaces and the need to derive “maximum value” of taxpayers from federal property across the country.
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s sold immediately. However, the spokesman said in a statement, adding that the list will be reissued as soon as the agency evaluates the input it receives. “Since we published our first list on March 4, 2025, it has attracted overwhelming interest.”
It is unclear what will happen in the end, as well as many policies and declarations by the Trump administration, including the recent enactment and subsequent suspension of tariffs on several imports from Mexico and Canada.
Some of the speculations in the country’s capital are that the White House wants to sell some real estate and then lease the space.
“People are confused about the GSA’s activities and Congress has little awareness of what the GSA is doing. I don’t know if the GSA knows what it is doing,” Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) said at a council subcommittee hearing last week about the proposal. “My own staff receives mostly news about GSA activities from the press from a Reddit thread entitled “GSA Rif Megathread.”
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif) said the potential closures will have a deep impact on the state’s residents.
“From courts to congressional offices, our state alone has 16 federal buildings where Californians rely on key component services such as passport renewal, veteran support and access to social security benefits,” he said. “The accidental closure of the federal buildings that its members rely on is yet another example of the administration’s incompetence in thinking about the current cuts and the consequences.”
Immigration, citizenship, taxes and housing services are one of the resources at 300 N. Los Angeles St., a federal estate in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
“Downtown must be a place where people work, live and play,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Isabel Jurado. “If federal buildings are actually closed, that will hit the heart of our city, but that’s not surprising given the tendency of this federal administration to cut down on important services and earn cheap political points.”
The Trump administration has sought to save taxpayers dollars by closing or selling federal buildings, even if federal workers demanded they resume work in offices.
The proposed closure of Washington, D.C. landmarks, including the historic old post office building and the FBI headquarters, the former location of Trump’s hotels at multiple agency headquarters, drew the most attention and headlines.
However, most of the 440 buildings originally targeted by the administration are outside of Washington, D.C., according to the Associated Press.
Many facilities listed for the closure were named after prominent elected officials, including Boston President John F. Kennedy Jr. Dick Cheney, former Vice President of Casper, Wyoming. Former San Francisco Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi; Rep. Leo Ryan, a Californian, was killed in 1978 while investigating the Jim Jones cult in Guyana.
Others were named after civil rights icons, including Martin Luther King Jr. of Atlanta, Cesar E. Chavez of Denver, and Rosa Parks of Detroit.
Additional California properties listed for potential closures are in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Long Beach, Santa Anna, Vanny, Huntington Park, and Pasadena.
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