(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is celebrating the potential sale of a federal government building in Washington, D.C. Ernst joined Trump Administration officials at a news conference to announce a U-S-D-A office building the opened in 1936 is being put on the market. “Even after President Trump’s ‘Return to Work’ order which was right at the beginning of this administration and the USDA doubling down on the number of employees in the office, nearly two-thirds of this space is still unused,” Ernst said. “And now, folks, it will officially be for sale.” Ernst has criticized U-S Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack — the former Iowa governor — for the agency’s remote work policies.

“The previous administration’s USDA denied their ‘ghost town,’ but Secretary Rollins took action on this,” Ernst said. “She tracked down the utilization numbers and ensured that taxpayer dollars and space are being used wisely.” For the past three years, Ernst has been calling for federal employees to return to in-person work in federally-owned facilities — and she says unused office space should be sold. “So we have one federal government building down with $1.6 billion in repairs and millions a year in operating expenses saved,” Ernst said. “We’ve got many, many more of these unused federal buildings yet to go.” Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, is not seeking reelection in November.

Last May, the agency that manages federal buildings announced over 400 properties around the country would be sold, but a day later the list was removed from the agency’s website. The U-S-D-A’s South Building in Washington, D.C. was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. It was world’s largest office building for seven years — until the Pentagon was completed. The building’s sale is part of U-S Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins’ reorganization plan for the agency. She is relocating U-S-D-A staff from D-C to locations in Colorado, Utah and North Carolina as well as Kansas City and Indianapolis.