Miami headquarters for Radio and TV Marti among list of “terminated” leases targeted by Elon Musk’s DOGE team. But NBC6 Investigates finds, like some of its other claims, the facts don’t add up.
As Elon Musk’s team of budget cutters fans out across the administration, their recurring misstatements of facts has made tracking just how much money they may be saving difficult, if not impossible.
Some claims they have posted on the website for the so-called “Department” of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, about purported budget savings have been wildly inflated and inaccurate.
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WATCH HEREBut NBC6 Investigates found one section – listing what it says are “terminations” of certain building leases with government agencies – provides some clues about what DOGE may have on the chopping block here in South Florida.
Check out the DOGE website, and you find billions of dollars they claim to be saving through cancellations, sales and other actions involving grants and contracts.
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The “Wall of Receipts,” as it’s dubbed, is the kind of thing that has some in Congress excited.
“I’m happy we have someone like Elon Musk who looks at things a kind of different way, kind of guiding us,” said U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Miami).
“The ones that are all squealing and yelling are the Democrats because all of their pet projects, their ideologically based financing decisions are going by the wayside,” he said.
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But if the list of 748 lease terminations produced by the DOGE team signals which programs it will target, it may be more than just Democrats squealing.
That’s because one of the leases DOGE says is “terminated” is for the Jorge Mas Canoa Building – headquarters for the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting’s Radio and Television Marti operation – saving taxpayers $5.32 million by ending its $1.5 million annual lease.
But not so fast, DOGE – says the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees the $25 million annual program created to feed news and analysis into Cuba – which consistently jams its signals.
Contacted for comment by NBC6 Investigates about the headquarters being on the “terminated’ list, the agency said, “That list is being reviewed. As of today, no decisions on divestment have been made.”
The agency declined to answer whether termination of the lease would also mean the termination of the operation based there.
Gimenez had not heard the building was on the “termination list,” but said killing Radio and Television Marti – with savings of more than $26.6 million a year – is one cut he is not willing to accept.
“No, I don’t have information about it, and I don’t support eliminating Radio Marti. I support revamping it, but I don’t support eliminating it. I think it’s vital the people of Cuba get free, unedited information," he said.
In all, NBC6 Investigates found eight other leases in South Florida listed by DOGE as being terminated, including:
- The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary office in Key Largo, saving $1.45 million, according to DOGE. The office serves as the Upper Keys home for staff and equipment, complementing one in Key West that is in a government building;
- A Department of Labor office in Plantation that helps private sector employees with pension, health, and other benefits (purported savings of $2.86 million);
- A US Fish and Wildlife Service office in Doral (alleged savings: $134,000);
- A Food and Drug Administration office of criminal investigations in Plantation (supposedly saving $691,000)
None of those agencies responded to requests for comment.
