The unofficial Department of Government Efficiency maintains a running tab of contracts terminated and offices closed on its “Wall of Receipts.” As of Friday morning, the website lists 11 Oklahoma facilities that have been closed under the banner of “efficiency.”
The website, which has been criticized for posting inaccurate and incomplete information, does not specify what those facilities were. It only lists what agency they belonged to, what city they’re in and how much savings DOGE claims from their closures.
KOSU attempted to contact all Oklahoma agencies listed on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts.” Contacts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Muskogee Office of U.S. Attorneys and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service either were unavailable to comment Friday or could not share any additional information.
DOGE’s website says it will save $6.3 million from facility cuts at the “Office of Surface Mining and Regulation Enforcement” in Tulsa. There’s no agency with that name, but a spokesperson for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement said their Tulsa field office is still up and running.
“While it has been reported that the Oklahoma Field Office is closed, the office is open and will continue to fulfill its responsibilities to the residents of Oklahoma,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Bureau of Indian Affairs closures leave tribal officials confused
Federal offices crucial to Indigenous success — Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Department of the Interior and others— underwent layoffs earlier this month.
Offices for the Bureau of Indian Affairs located in Pawnee, Carnegie, Wewoka and Watonga were listed for closure. Affected tribes were confused by the closures.
A spokesperson for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe said the tribe was looking into the closure in Watonga but was unaware of what was going on.
Other tribes, such as the Otoe-Missouria who the Pawnee agency serves, were confused as to what departments would be affected and were actively seeking answers.
“The Pawnee complex is very large and there are many offices,” Otoe-Missouria Public Affairs Officer Heather Payne said. “We don’t know yet what offices will be closed.”
Currently, the Pawnee complex serves 7,200 tribal members across four tribes. Departments such as social services, natural resources and real estate are housed there.
The Pawnee Nation said they do not have a comment about the closure at this time.
Seminole Nation attorney Robert Gifford said he was unsure what would happen to the people working at the Wewoka agency in the tribe’s capital. He said the agency focused on real estate matters within the tribe.
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior did not answer any questions about the potential closures.
“The Department of the Interior is committed to upholding federal responsibilities to tribal communities,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an email. “Indian Affairs offices remain open and continue to provide services. The Department of the Interior is working with GSA to ensure facilities will be available for the continued delivery of BIA services.”
Vice President of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes Tasha Mousseau said layoffs and real estate cuts could greatly impact her Southwest Oklahoma community and other small tribal nations.
“It's a broad impact on Indian Country. Everything is related. The systems are related, the people are related,” she said.
Layoff impacts around the state
There are more than 40,000 federal employees in Oklahoma. How many have or could soon lose their jobs remains unclear.
Although rumors have swirled all week about impending layoffs at Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, a Tinker spokesperson said none had happened by Friday morning. That seems true for all Air Force bases in the state.
“No actions have occurred,” an Air Force Materiel Command spokesperson said Friday morning. “We are continuing prudent planning.”
After a week of silence from Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation on the rumored layoffs, Rep. Tom Cole, whose district includes Tinker, acknowledged his concerns in a social media post.
“I will continue to be actively engaged on the situation, as I will always fight for Tinker Air Force base and the critical role the base and its civilian employees play to safeguard our nation,” Cole said.
I am aware of the concern of layoffs at Tinker Air Force Base. As the Representative for the base in Congress, I share these concerns and have been closely monitoring the situation. My staff and I have been in regular contact with leadership at Tinker Air Force base and have…
— Rep. Tom Cole (@TomColeOK04) February 28, 2025
The Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, employs 469 Oklahomans, according to federal data, A spokesperson said layoffs haven't hit the agency yet.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District is aware of the initiative, but we have not received notification to release probationary employees at this time,” a spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District said. “To date, neither the district's funding nor personnel have been impacted by changes.”
With 17,895 employees in Oklahoma, the Department of the Air Force employs nearly half the state’s federal workers. Other large federal employers are the Department of the Army (4,763 Oklahomans), the Federal Aviation Administration (3,318 Oklahomans), the Social Security Administration (469 Oklahomans) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (233 Oklahomans).
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has laid off an undetermined number of people at the National Weather Service office in Norman.
The Norman facility includes the National Severe Storms Laboratory, which researches forecasting, weather warnings and radar technology. Other organizations working in Oklahoma include the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations and others.
State leadership supports federal cuts, says they’re ready to help laid-off workers
Oklahoma’s state leaders say they’re monitoring the fallout from federal cuts in Oklahoma but are still behind Trump’s agenda.
“I want to be completely clear: I support what President Trump is doing and working to reduce the federal deficit,” House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said at a press conference Thursday. “When you're $35 trillion in debt, we have to take action, and some of that action is going to be painful when you're talking about trying to rightsize the federal government.”
Hilbert and Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton continue to back Trump’s government waste reduction plan but say they’re keeping tabs on the fallout and preparing to help laid-off Oklahomans as needs arise.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said people facing layoffs may need to take one for the team.
“We've got to tighten our belt a little bit nationally,” Stitt said in a press conference Wednesday. “I think that's what you're seeing. And then you're seeing a lot of people clamor around to say, ‘Cut everywhere else except for our job.’”
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
