Is DOGE terminating three Idaho Falls government office leases? It’s unclear

IDAHO FALLS — Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) posted a list on its website stating it will be terminating the leases of three Idaho Falls government offices, among about 740 others across the country.

According to the DOGE’s website, the department is ending government office leases across the country in an attempt to save taxpayer money. It does not mention what will happen to the government workers in these offices.

DOGE claims it is getting its numbers from the Federal Procurement Data System but cannot confirm that any of the information it is putting out is up to date and factual. It says, “There may be discrepancies between FPDS and the posted numbers, the latter of which originate directly from agency contracting officials.”

So, what is true? When is this supposedly happening? Are local people going to lose their jobs? Finding the answers locally or from federal government officials has proven to be difficult. Despite emails, phone calls and attempted in-person interviews, virtually no one would talk to EastIdahoNews.com about this.

DOGE does not have a media relations department or a number to contact for questions, so went directly to the local offices mentioned by DOGE.

Here’s what we found out.

What do these places do?

According to DOGE, the department is terminating the leases of the following offices in Idaho Falls:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), at 1750 Foote Drive
• Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Assistance Center, in Suite 210 at 1820 East 17th Street
• Agricultural Marketing Services, in Suite 100 at 1820 East 17th Street

NOAA office

According to an informational sheet from the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA is responsible for “daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce (and) NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.”

The NOAA website says it “supports the (Department of Energy’s) Idaho National Laboratory for the DOE Idaho Operations Office” and supports the site “with meteorological forecasts and emergency response capabilities.”

IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center

According to the IRS website, this office provides in-person tax assistance.

Agricultural Marketing Services

According to the USDA website, this department “administers programs that create domestic and international marketing opportunities for U.S. producers of food, fiber, and specialty crops. AMS also provides the agriculture industry with valuable services to ensure the quality and availability of wholesome food for consumers across the country and around the world.”

Details on the leases

NOAA office

The DOGE website claims that by terminating the lease of this 13,681-square-foot office, which it says costs $69,756 a year, it will save a total of $488,290.

IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center

DOGE claims that terminating the lease of this 2,925-square-foot building, which has a reported annual leasing cost of $52,743, will save a total of $8,790.

Agricultural Marketing Services

DOGE claims that terminating the lease of this 1,920-square-foot building, which has a reported annual leasing cost of $34,856, will save a total of $223,657.

EastIdahoNews.com confirmed that DOGE is getting the first number, the leasing costs, from a 2025 filing inventory with the U.S. General Services Administration.

The NOAA office is being leased through Ronald Frazell, and the IRS and Agricultural Marketing Service offices are being leased through Infinite Investments LLC.

It’s not clear where DOGE is getting the second “total savings” number or whether it includes potential terminations. In the case of the IRS office numbers, it is not clear how they could terminate a lease worth $52,743 and only save $8,790.

Looking for answers and finding few

NOAA office

In researching the alleged lease termination of NOAA, EastIdahoNews.com called the National Weather Service and was told staff could not comment. We were encouraged to email its media relations team, which we did. We have not heard back.

We called the local NOAA office, and no one picked up or called us back.

We then contacted INL to see if it could confirm the lease termination or comment on how it could potentially affect lab operations.

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We were told to email the General Services Administration Customer Service Center, and we received an email to reach out to its media relations team, from which we haven’t heard back.

We tried emailing the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy and were told to email the DOE media relations team. We have not heard back.

EastIdahoNews.com then went to the NOAA office in person, where multiple employees told us they were being told they couldn’t comment.

When asked who told them they couldn’t comment, one employee responded, “Even saying that would be saying too much.”

IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center

After calling many different IRS numbers and discovering there is no local number for any local offices, EastIdahoNews.com called the number for IRS media relations. We were told to send an email, but we have not heard back.

We then went to the local building and were told they could not talk with us, and employees encouraged us to contact media relations, which we already had.

We were then handed a piece of paper entitled “Know IRS guidelines when dealing with the media,” which, again, instructed us to call media relations, which we haven’t heard back from.

Agricultural Marketing Service

When trying to find answers, we called this office’s local number, but nobody answered. We left a message and have not heard back. We called the USDA public relations phone number, and nobody answered.

We then emailed the USDA public relations team. We received the following response:

“USDA is optimizing building capacity and consolidating underutilized offices to reduce inefficiencies while continuing to prioritize frontline services for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.”

We then went to the local office, where we discovered it is in the same office as many other programs and departments, including the Idaho Department of Agriculture, the Fruit and Vegetable Division, and Oregon State University.

After knocking on the door and receiving no response, we opened the door. We saw many empty desks, leading us to believe nobody was there. Just in case, we announced ourselves, and a man came out of an office.

We said we were with EastIdahoNews.com, he quickly said, “No comment,” multiple times, opened the door and ushered us out without telling us who he was, where he worked or any other information.

What now?

We don’t know if or when the office leases are being terminated or what impact it will have on the employees who work there, because no one will talk to us. We are still looking for answers and are in the process of submitting information requests.

If you know of someone who can confirm the claims of the DOGE lease terminations or would like to speak with us to let others know what is happening in the government they pay for, please email us at news@eastidahonews.com.