Ernst Announces USDA South Building Will Be for Sale

WASHINGTON – Following years of work, today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins and General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Ed Forst to announce that the nearly vacant USDA South Building, which she called out last year, is soon-to-be for sale.

Earlier this year, Ernst stood in front of the nearly empty USDA South Building and called for it to be sold off. This week, Ernst received a response to her investigation that revealed even after President Trump’s return to work order and USDA doubling the number of employees in the office, nearly two-thirds of space is still unused.

Watch Senator Ernst’s remarks here.

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“I am the daughter of an Iowa farmer. I am from a farm family, and it's so good to know that both at the Department of Agriculture and GSA, that you are representing people in Middle America… So the previous administrations, the USDA denied their ghost town, but Secretary Rollins took action on this. She tracked down the utilization numbers and ensured that taxpayer dollars and space are being used wisely… And now, folks, it will be officially for sale,” said Ernst.

“On any given day, more than 70% of the seats in this building sit empty. Taxpayers foot the bill for these empty offices, all while deferred maintenance costs continue to add up and up and up. Now mounting well over $1 billion and counting on this building alone. The bottom line is that taxpayers are getting shortchanged. But under the leadership of President Trump and our great friends up on the Hill who they all know a thing or two, especially the president, about managing real estate, that all changes starting today,” said USDA Secretary Rollins.

“I also want to thank Senator Ernst for her incredible support and her long-standing work to highlight government inefficiencies, to eliminate unnecessary regulatory hurdles and to fast track the sale of buildings. She was ahead of many on the issue, and I am really eager to work with her on this and so many other opportunities.” said GSA Administrator Forst.

“We're following the law that Senator Ernst and her colleagues in Congress passed, when they passed the USE It Act, requiring that for every federally owned or leased space, the minimum acceptable occupancy rate must be 60%,” said USDA Deputy Secretary Vaden.

Background:

Ernst exposed how federal office buildings were virtual ghost towns in December 2023 with her naughty list that showed that USDA used just 11% of their office space.

In front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in February 2024, Ernst confronted then-Secretary Tom Vilsack about USDA’s tele-“work” policies and USDA headquarters resembling a ghost town. Following her continued advocacy, Ernst thenpraised the Trump administration in July 2025 for helping expose the out-of-office bureaucrats and called out Secretary Vilsack for lying to her about the true utilization rate of USDA’s headquarters.

Every year, Washington pays out over $81 million maintaining underutilized offices, including nearly 7,700 vacant buildingsand another 2,265 that are largely empty. GSA reported that deferred maintenance exceeds $6 billion and will grow to $20 billion in five years.

Ernst’s FOR SALE Act would put six pieces of prime properties in the nation’s capital on the auction block, one of which was the USDA South Building, to generate $400 million or more in revenue, while also canceling costs, including $2.9 billion for overdue maintenance.

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