The Trump administration is reversing dozens of office lease cancellations involving the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, following pressure from Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and other Republicans.
DOL notified MSHA staff Tuesday that the General Services Administration, which owns and manages much of the federal government’s real estate, recently told the department that 34 properties are no longer being shuttered, according to three people familiar with the matter not authorized to speak publicly. A few MSHA sites are still slated for closure, according to two of the people.
The offices were initially targeted as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s effort to physically shrink the government, and the reversal is the latest example of the Trump administration having to tap the breaks on DOGE moves. Most of the MSHA leases appear to have been removed from DOGE’s “wall of receipts,” though it is unclear when that occurred.
“The break-it-and-fix-it-later approach just doesn’t work if you care about mine safety and worker health,” said a former MSHA official with knowledge of the reversals, who requested anonymity to discuss the situation.
