GAO Report: DOT's Unused Office Space Costs Taxpayers Hundreds of Millions Annually

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is drastically underutilizing its office space, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Despite President Trump's 2025 executive order ending remote work, GAO auditors found that 89% of DOT's 189 office buildings were below the legally mandated 60% occupancy rate set by the 2023 USE IT Act. Average occupancy rates were just 37% for owned buildings and 41% for leased buildings. The DOT and FAA headquarters alone, totaling 1.8 million square feet, cost over $100 million annually in rent and $25 million in operations, yet were only one-third full. The third most expensive building, One Aviation Plaza in New York, was only 13% occupied despite $15 million in annual rent. The GAO notes that DOT has resisted adopting desk-sharing systems for field employees who work offsite half the time, and that sub-agencies do not share space, leading to multiple half-empty offices.