U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday took down a directory of federal facilities it had listed for possible sale that included some of the U.S. government's most iconic properties.
The apparent change of course came one day after the U.S. General Services Administration posted a list of 443 properties it said it might sell to save on maintenance costs.
On Wednesday, GSA's "noncore property list" was blank.
GSA did not explain why it took down the list. The agency said in a statement that it had received an "overwhelming amount of interest" and planned to release a new list soon.
GSA's list had included the headquarters of more than a dozen federal agencies, including the GSA's own building. Skyscrapers in Chicago, Atlanta and Cleveland and major tax-processing centers were on the list, as was the Old Post Office, the historic building that once housed the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the initial list outrageous and said any sale would need to be done in an orderly fashion.
"You cannot dump buildings on the market without preparation or a plan, because it would be antithetical to making this the most beautiful capital city in the world," she said at a briefing.
The potential sell-off appeared to be part of Trump's effort to slash the federal government, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The downsizing drive has led to 100,000 workers taking buyouts or being laid off.
