Two federal offices in Wisconsin have been labeled as “True Termination-Agency Closed Office” by the Department of Government Efficiency — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services office in Madison, a Defense Contract Management Agency office in Merrill, according to the DOGE website.
A Social Security Administration office in Green Bay is labeled as “True Termination-Consolidation,” assuming a five-year continuation of the office’s lease, according to the DOGE website.
And a Department of Defense office in Milwaukee, which will be moved to a federal space, with the payment assuming a five-year continuation of the lease, is also being targeted by DOGE.
UW professor emeritus of political science and legal studies Howard Schweber said it is unclear whether or not the DOGE is acting in its legal authority in targeting the offices.
“Legally it is not clear under what circumstances the Department of Government Efficiency has authority to lay off federal employees,” Schweber said.
Layoffs to federal employees go through agency heads and administrations in the past.
The basis on which DOGE can close these offices depends on the authority under which those offices were formed in the first place, Schweber said.
“It is clear that the White House is treating DOGE as an authoritative actor,” Schweber said.
If offices created by Congress are being closed by an executive branch power like DOGE, without the consent of Congress, such actions would be illegal, Schweber said.
The Trump administration recognizes that these actions would be contrary to federal law, but it believes that they could be justified with a different constitutional interpretation, according to Schweber.
Ultimately, the Trump administration is seeking to overturn current federal laws preventing the DOGE from performing their tasks.
The confusion lies within DOGE’s authoritative command and its relationship with Congress.
“There’s a long-standing understanding, which goes back to at least the Nixon administration, that says it would be unconstitutional for the executive branch to say that we don’t care what Congress said, we’re not going to do that because we don’t think it’s a good idea,” Schweber said.
Part of the Trump administration’s plan is to challenge federal laws, in hopes of overturning them in the Supreme Court, according to Schweber,.
The closing of offices in Wisconsin is seen as a cost-saving measure, but Schweber believes the larger goal is to move to a model where the president has direct control over all the activities created by Congress.
Many federal employees are taking DOGE to court for laying them off, but the cases are still evolving, according to the Associated Press.
