The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of more than 400 federal properties it says it could close or sell, including the FBI headquarters and the main Department of Justice building, after deeming them “not core to government operations.”

The list published by the General Services Administration includes some of the country’s most recognizable buildings and spans nearly every state, with properties ranging from courthouses to office buildings and parking garages. In Washington, D.C., it includes the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which serves as FBI headquarters, the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, the Old Post Office building, where President Donald Trump once ran a hotel, and the American Red Cross headquarters. The headquarters of numerous agencies, including Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, are listed as well.

Also on the list are the enormous Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Indiana, the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center and the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco. Roughly 80% of the country’s 2.4 million federal workers are based outside of metropolitan Washington, D.C.

Six Minnesota properties are on the list, including the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, near MSP Airport, and the Paul D. Wellstone Federal Building in Minneapolis.

NATO nominee says commitment ‘ironclad’

President Donald Trump’s pick as NATO ambassador reassured senators at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s commitment to the military alliance was “ironclad.”

The U.S. commitment has been called into question by Trump’s scathing criticism of European allies and his eagerness to build ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Matt Whitaker, an acting attorney general in Trump’s first term, told senators that a key part of his mission would be to push the 32 NATO allies to meet Trump’s demand to increase their own defense spending

Trump sent chills through the alliance with his comment during the campaign that Russia should “do whatever the hell it wants” to NATO members that don’t meet military spending targets. He has played down the threat from Russia and threatened to end U.S. support for Ukraine as it fights off Russia’s invasion.

In the aftermath of Trump’s contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week at the White House, European NATO members have been scrambling to assess their defense arrangements, while insisting there is no thought of going it alone without the United States.

Sources: IRS to cut half its workforce

The IRS is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the plans.

The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency by closing agencies, laying off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and offering buyouts to almost all federal

employees through a “deferred resignation program” to quickly reduce the government workforce.

A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS “dysfunctional,” said John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner.

The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 workers total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data. People of color make up 56% of the IRS workforce, and women represent 65%.

Already, roughly 7,000 probationary IRS employees with roughly one year or less of service were laid off from the organization in February.

Judge reinstates gender-care funding

A second federal judge extended a block Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s executive orders halting federal funding for providers of gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19.

The judge’s ruling came after in a lawsuit filed earlier this month on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children who allege their health care has already been compromised by the president’s orders.

A national group for family of LGBTQ+ people and a doctors organization are also plaintiffs in the court challenge, one of more than 100 lawsuits opposing a slew of executive orders Trump has issued as he seeks to reverse the policies of former President Joe Biden.

The preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson in Baltimore, a Biden nominee, keeps enforcement of the orders on hold while the case plays out, though the administration is expected to appeal.

Watchdog wants ag employees reinstated

A government watchdog wants more than 5,000 probationary employees to be reinstated at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the latest example of resistance to President Donald Trump ‘s efforts to downsize the federal workforce.

The Office of Special Counsel made the request Friday and disclosed it Tuesday. If the request is granted by the Merit Systems Protection Board, the employees would be back on the job for 45 days as an investigation continues. At that point, the board could be asked to make a final decision to reinstate them.

Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger said the firings “appear to have been carried out in a manner inconsistent with federal personnel laws.” It’s possible that he could reach similar conclusions about employees at other departments as well.

GOP urges reps. to cancel town halls

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of House Republicans’ campaign arm, issued a message to the GOP rank and file Tuesday: Stop having in-person town halls with your constituents.

The directive, relayed to lawmakers during their private weekly meeting in the basement of the Capitol, comes as Republican town halls have devolved into angry shouting matches across the country. They have become forums where voters confront members of Congress about the sharp spending cuts they are proposing and President Donald Trump’s moves to fire federal workers and defund programs across government.

Hudson told Republican lawmakers that Democratic activists were bombarding town halls and drowning out actual constituent voices, and predicted the trend would worsen, according to two people in the room for his remarks. He encouraged House Republicans to instead hold tele-town halls or Facebook Live events. Both of those formats allow moderators to filter questions and comments.

House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed the approach at a news conference later Tuesday.

— From news services