The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has announced the termination of the lease for the United States Attorney’s Office in Corpus Christi. The closure of the office, located at 800 N. Shoreline Blvd., Suite 500, One Shoreline Plaza South Tower, is expected to save the federal government approximately $307,267 per year.
According to the DOGE website, the annual lease for the facility costs $409,689, making the move a significant cost-cutting measure for federal operations.
Impact on Employees and Federal Operations
When asked about the impact of the closure on employees and ongoing cases, Angela Dodge, spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, acknowledged awareness of the situation but did not provide further details.
The Southern District of Texas has seven divisions with federal district courts in Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen, and Laredo. The Corpus Christi Division, established in 1975, serves Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, and San Patricio counties, covering a population of over 555,000 residents.
This district is one of the busiest in the United States, with more than 200 attorneys handling federal cases. It oversees an estimated 9 million people across 43 counties, spanning 44,000 square miles from Houston to the Mexico border.
Nationwide Office Closures
Corpus Christi is not the only city affected by these changes. DOGE also confirmed the closures of United States Attorney’s Offices in:
- Lufkin, Texas
- Toledo, Ohio
- Muskogee, Oklahoma
- Sioux City, Iowa
These closures are part of a broader effort to streamline federal resources and reduce government spending. The decision will shift caseloads to other regional offices, potentially increasing workloads for attorneys and support staff in remaining locations.
What Comes Next?
As the lease termination date approaches, affected employees may face relocation or reassignment. Other Southern District of Texas offices may take over federal cases previously handled in Corpus Christi.
Officials have yet to clarify how pending cases will be managed or if additional staff will be allocated to other offices to accommodate the shift in workload. Meanwhile, the closure marks a significant restructuring of federal operations in Texas and beyond.