Bloomberg reported on Thursday (May 15) that the headquarters of the Voice of America has been included in the list of federally-owned properties for sale. The Trump administration is considering selling a series of vacant federal buildings in an effort to reduce the government’s real estate footprint.
The Voice of America headquarters, officially known as the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, is located on the south side of the National Mall, just two blocks away from the U.S. Capitol. This historic building was originally constructed for the Social Security Administration and occupies millions of square feet. Inside the building are offices of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Recently, other properties put up for sale in the past few weeks include federal courthouses in Los Angeles and Cleveland, a food safety and inspection laboratory in St. Louis, and the headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C.
Previously, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for managing federal real estate, once listed 443 federal properties that could be sold, then gradually released sale notices weekly. However, the GSA quickly withdrew the list and revised the sale process more cautiously.
According to federal law, excess properties must first be offered to the government and non-profit organizations before being opened to private bidders. The GSA stated that expediting the sale process would allow them to navigate regulatory obstacles while potential buyers conduct due diligence.
Bloomberg noted that selling the Voice of America building could leave employees and contractors of this government-operated international news network without an office space, even if they manage to persuade Congress or the courts to overturn the Trump administration’s funding cuts.
Previously, Trump issued executive orders to continue cutting federal agencies, demanding the closure of the Voice of America and its sister channels including Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, Cuban Broadcasting Office, and the Open Technology Fund.
A federal judge later temporarily halted the government’s shutdown of the Voice of America, but an appeals court ruled that the government could continue withholding funds while some Voice of America journalists challenged their termination decisions.
In 2024, the Biden administration signed a 15-year lease for a new modern office building on Pennsylvania Avenue for the Voice of America, with an annual rent of around $250 million. However, in March 2025, the head of the global media organization nominated by Trump canceled this new lease, deeming it “too costly” and lacking broadcasting facilities to meet the organization’s needs.
(Parts of this article were based on Bloomberg’s reporting)