A Kentucky Social Security office will remain open after DOGE reverses course on closure
A plan to close a Campbellsville Social Security Administration office has been halted just a few days after the Department of Government Efficiency listed the lease as terminated.
Bill Broydrick, a spokesperson for Gardner Tatenbaum, a real estate group and the owner of the building at 101 Hiestand Farm Road in Taylor County, said the group received a letter Friday saying only a small portion of the office that is designated for hearings will be closed.
The main Social Security Administration office in Campbellsville will remain open, he said.
“Most of those hearings now are conducted via Zoom,” Broydrick said of the hearings.
The real estate group had originally received a letter Feb. 21 saying the entire office in Campbellsville would close, Broydrick said.
Broydrick said it’s not clear if the federal government only meant to close the appeals office when it sent that letter.
A separate building dedicated to Social Security appeals in Hazard will still close, Broydrick said.
The Herald-Leader reported on the two closures on Thursday.
The building is rarely used and is listed as closed. The main Hazard Social Security office will remain open, according to U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky, who represents Hazard.
Social Security offices help people replace Social Security cards, obtain other benefits such as Medicare and help people determine when they should start collecting Social Security.
DOGE terminating leases in Kentucky
The Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, has claimed it has saved taxpayers $660 million by terminating leases for government offices across the country.
DOGE’s efforts are part of a broader push to slash spending and cut the federal workforce.
However, the DOGE website does not make it clear when the leases were terminated or the addresses of the offices possibly set for closure.
DOGE has now listed more than a dozen Kentucky-based office leases as either terminated or facing termination. Those offices include six U.S. Department of Labor federal Mine Safety and Health Administration offices in Harlan, Hazard, Madisonville, Prestonsburg, Barbourville, Beaver Dam, Bowling Green and Hopkinsville.
Also listed to be closed is the U.S. Office of Surface Mining and Regulation in Lexington.
Broydrick said the Tatenbaum group owns the building for the mine safety office in Hazard.
The group is also trying to determine if that lease will also be reinstated, he said.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM.
