South African billionaire and unelected bureaucrat Elon Musk is set to cancel scores of leases, targetting organisations and agencies that assist Native American communities across the United States.
Mr Musk, who has received an estimated US$40 billion in taxpayer-funded government aid, funding and orders over the past two decades, heads the Department of Government Efficiency, which has embarked on a frenzied campaign of cuts, slashing funding for aid programs, veterans assistance, park rangers and other services.
Mr Musk, whose social media platform Twitter is notorious for platforming neo-Nazis, white supremacists, antisemites and other assorted bigots, claims he has been targetting "fraud" but is yet to produce a shred of evidence supporting a single case thereof.
He has targetted at least 41 offices, including Bureau of Indigenous Affairs, the Indian Health Service, National Indian Gaming Commission, and Office of Hearing and Appeals.
A list of planned lease terminations published on the DOGE website this month includes plans for the closure of 34 offices across the US.
The list is likely incomplete and inaccurate, since DOGE's "wall of receipts" has frequently overstated its savings impact for federal taxpayers, requiring numerous corrections since it began posting details of its work.
A further seven planned closures were identified in a document published by the Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee.
National Congress of American Indians president Mark Macarro told the Associated Press that funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and the Bureau of Indian Education represents the lion's share of the government's obligations to tribes, and last year those departments made up less than 0.25 per cent of the federal budget.
"They're looking in the wrong place to be doing this," said President Macarro.
"And what's frustrating is that we know that DOGE couldn't be a more uninformed group of people behind the switch. They need to know, come up to speed real quick, on what treaty rights and trust responsibility means."
Representative Jared Huffman, a California Democrat and Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said the impact on Bureau of Indian Affairs offices will be "especially devastating".
"These offices are already underfunded, understaffed, and stretched beyond capacity, struggling to meet the needs of Tribal communities who face systemic barriers to federal resources," he said.
"Closing these offices will further federal erode services like public safety, economic development, education, and housing assistance—services that Tribal Nations rely on for their well-being and self-determination."
