San Antonians enter the Social Security office at 727 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd. Credit: Sanford Nowlin

Billionaire Elon Musk’s chainsaw diet for the U.S. government could shutter nearly 450 federal offices across Texas that do anything from assisting ailing veterans to answering questions about retirement and disability benefits, records show.

The closures, which also could include as many as 25 San Antonio properties, would gut the government’s ability to deliver vital services Texans access daily, critics charge. Sites on the chopping block include offices of the Social Security Administration, the Farm Service Agency and the Small Business Administration along with Veterans Administration facilities, according to a federal website listing holdings by the General Services Administration, the government’s real estate arm.

“Elon Musk is on an authoritarian rampage through the federal government,” said Rob Weissman, co-president of watchdog group Public Citizen, which at press time has filed at least three lawsuits to rein in the billionaire Trump donor’s DOGE, or Department of Government Efficiency.

“While Musk tried to say that this is all about improving efficiency, it’s not efficient to get rid of government offices that directly serve the public and play an important function,” Weissman added. “It’s completely arbitrary, dangerous and puts the cost back on all of us.”

As evidence of the closures’ unintended consequences, critics point to the Musk’s downsizing efforts at the Department of Energy, which were paused over fears they could affect the nation’s nuclear defense programs.

Widespread closures

Citing communications from Trump administration officials, the Washington Post reports that DOGE’s plans to slash government spending include eliminating half of all federal nonmilitary real estate nationwide. Those cuts are planned on top of personnel reductions that have already taken place, including a mass firing of thousands of probationary employees on the job for fewer than two years.

At present, more than 70 federal agencies have facilities across the San Antonio metro, according to Texas AFL-CIO Executive Board Member Marinella Murillo. Some 240,000 jobs in Bexar and surrounding counties are directly or indirectly related to the U.S. government, she added.

A sweeping closure of those facilities would mean a less responsive government and more frustration for those who rely on federal facilities for everyday services, from veterans seeking mental health assistance to rural residents seeking farm loans, experts said.

“Government employees aren’t out there loafing,” said Murillo, a retired federal employee who served in both the SBA and the Housing and Urban Development. “Their work effects the lives of everyday people across San Antonio on a daily basis. It’s a hard pill to swallow.”

San Antonio protesters gather outside a congressional office to protest against DOGE. Credit: Anthony Dominic Tamayo

Should Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency carry through with its plans, Texas would be hit especially hard. The Lone Star State is home to 894 federal offices, at least 50 of them in San Antonio, according to the GSA’s online inventory. That means up to 447 statewide could be on Musk’s chopping block.

Four people with knowledge of internal GSA talks told the Post that the property selloff is part of DOGE’s effort to force federal field workers to quit by decimating morale.

“We’ve heard from them that they want to make the buildings so crappy that people will leave,” one senior GSA official told the paper. “I think that’s the larger goal here, which is bring everybody back, the buildings are going to suck, their commutes are going to suck.”

Trinity University economist David Macpherson said a widespread closure of government offices would result in a glut of vacant space across San Antonio and other affected cities. However, he said the larger impact would come from the hemorrhaging of government employees, whose salaries and buying dollars play a significant role in local economies.

“It will increase unemployment, decrease spending and harm the city,” he said. “Economically, it can’t possibly do any good.”

No sign of backing down

While Trump has trumpeted DOGE as a means to rein in deficits, cutting the government workforce by one-fourth would only reduce federal spending by roughly 1%, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Multiple courts have intervened to temporarily stop Musk’s drastic downsizing moves, and the Trump administration now faces dozens of lawsuits over its power grabs. More than a dozen sued late last week to nullify DOGE over its unconstitutional actions, asking a federal judge to stop the entity’s takeover of federal agencies and their data.

Even so, Musk and Trump have shown no sign of backing off from their attempts to dismantle the federal government. Experts said the moves set up what could be one the biggest court fights over presidential power in U.S. history.

Without offering any proof, Musk told reporters last week in an Oval Office press conference that federal employees have somehow used taxpayer money to make themselves richer than their salaries could allow.

“We find it sort of rather odd that there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow manage to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position,” he said, offering no further proof.

The claim is offensive to AFL-CIO’s Murillo, who said most federal employees are driven by a desire to serve their country, not a desire to become rich. While Musk has made vague claims about using technology and AI to fill vacant government positions, she said those can’t replace those who use their expertise to answer complex questions for everyday people.

She worries San Antonio, which has a large veteran population and is grappling with issues of poverty and housing affordability, will be especially hard hit if federal agencies pull up stakes.

“There will be serious consequences from this, serious repercussions,” Murillo added.

Weissman of Public Citizen said his group is poised to file more suits to put the brakes on Musk and DOGE. However, he said the battle can’t be waged in the courts alone. Members of the Republican-controlled Congress must recognize the damage being done in their home districts and stand up to Trump.

“There’s both an arrogance to what Musk is doing and a complete lack of understanding how government actually works,” he said.

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This article appears in Feb 5-18, 2025.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...