The FBI and the General Services Administration announced Tuesday the Ronald Reagan Building complex in downtown Washington has been selected for the FBI’s new headquarters, and a cohort of Maryland members of Congress said they would fight back against the proposal.
Congress and the government have grappled for years over what to do about the current FBI headquarters in the “crumbling” J. Edgar Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington.
FBI Director Kash Patel, in a statement, pitched the move — which officially changes direction on prior plans to build a new headquarters in Maryland — as cost-effective.
“Through our strong partnerships with members of Congress and GSA, we are ushering FBI Headquarters into a new era and providing our agents of justice a safer place to work,” Patel said.
GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Michael Peters, in a statement, said the move “saves Americans billions of dollars on new construction and avoids more than $300 million in deferred maintenance costs at the J. Edgar Hoover facility.”
A cohort of Maryland lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees FBI funding, quickly objected to the announcement.
The General Services Administration in 2023 picked Maryland as the home of the new FBI headquarters over Virginia, after a lengthy and high-profile competition over where the new facility would be built.
Congress appropriated funding for a new campus to be constructed in Maryland, the lawmakers said in a statement.
“Now the Administration is attempting to redirect those funds — both undermining Congressional intent and dealing a blow to the men and women of the FBI — since we know that a headquarters located within the District would not satisfy their security needs,” they said.
“We will be fighting back against this proposal with every tool we have,” the statement said.
Members of Congress signing onto the statement were Van Hollen and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, along with Reps. Steny H. Hoyer, Glenn F. Ivey, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Sarah Elfreth and John “Johnny O” Olszewski Jr.
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