Building in Merrill listed on DOGE website among others in Wisconsin

MERRILL, Wis. (WSAW) – The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken no time in transforming the entire federal government workforce in just one month since President Trump took office.

Thousands of people were laid off as the administration and DOGE told agency leaders to plan for “large-scale reductions in force” and freeze trillions of dollars in federal grant funds.

Among the cuts is a small, less than 400 sq. ft. facility in Merrill used by the Defence Contract Management Agency (DCMA).

The agency’s Public Affairs Chief Mark Woodbury tells NewsChannel 7 the building and personnel have been used for quality assurance and oversight for the contracts DCMA manages.

Woodbury adds no jobs have been cut, and the workers have been relocated to other facilities.

Woodbury says DCMA is letting the lease on the building expire, citing budget restrictions and downsizing as factors.

The Merrill building is not the only government building or entity in Wisconsin seeing an impact. Others listed on the DOGE website include a Department of Defense building (7,322 sq. ft.) in Milwaukee, a Social Security Administration building (976 sq. ft.) in Green Bay, and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service building (2,871 sq. ft.) in Madison.

DOGE lists the total savings of each facility at:

• Merrill: $6,067
• Madison: $290,709 ($58,142 annual lease cost)
• Milwaukee: $933,500 (assuming the lease is continued for five years; $186,700 annual lease cost)
• Green Bay: $131,145 (assuming the lease is continued for five years; $26,229 annual lease cost)

The owner of the building in Green Bay, Doug Buck, told our affiliate WBAY that the Social Security Administration has been leasing the building on Dousman Street for over 20 years.

The administration renewed their lease just nine months ago.

Buck said he was surprised and in disbelief when he heard the news.

“This property serves a need in the community. There are a lot of people in this country that rely on their Social Security benefits for their survival. This is a crucial governmental service. So I have a hard time seeing this building closing soon,” Buck said.

Buck said he is confused as to why the building is on the DOGE list and is waiting to be given answers. He noted the DOGE listing shows a slight reduction in square footage and notes that it’s confusing.

DOGE states on the website its goal is to “balance the budget”. Thousands of people have been laid off as the administration and DOGE told agency leaders to plan for “large-scale reductions in force” and freeze trillions of dollars in federal grant funds.

The website was last updated on February 17 and states it will be updated “once or twice per week” with the eventual goal of having “real-time” updates.

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