Why is FBI headquarters moving out of DC? Biden administration chooses Maryland for intelligence agency's new base
WASHINGTON, DC: The Biden administration has chosen a location in Maryland for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s new headquarters as its crumbling Washington building is failing to accommodate the growing force.
On Wednesday, November 08, the General Services Administration confirmed that officials have picked the Greenbelt site over Springfield, Virginia for the new headquarters, following a sharp competition between the two states.
In a statement, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said that the agency “looks forward to building the FBI a state-of-the-art headquarters campus in Greenbelt to advance their critical mission for years to come.”
A GSA spokesperson further explained that the agency had determined that Greenbelt would be a more affordable site for the construction of a new FBI headquarters, offer improved transit accessibility, as it offer improved transit accessibility, and better advance the agency’s sustainability and equity goals.
In addition to a new Greenbelt building, the bureau will maintain a smaller office in downtown Washington, a senior law enforcement official said, according to the New York Times.
FBI headquarters is moving out of DC
The GSA’s decision marks the end of a ten-year hunt for a new location for the highest law enforcement organization in the country that will sufficiently satisfy its requirements for contemporary security.
The plan for a relocation began after FBI officials expressed the need for a location that could fully accommodate safety standards and allow for consolidating FBI personnel around the metro area in “one modern facility” that would eliminate extraneous leased space.
Several officials also stated that J Edgar Hoover Building is now too old and too small to accommodate an FBI workforce that has grown to meet much more complicated missions since it opened in 1975, according to the Federal Times.
Due to these issues, the FBI's fingerprint lab was relocated from Washington, DC when Sen. Robert Byrd, a mighty politician from West Virginia, wrangled the facility and its 2,600 employees for this home state.
Officials react to GSA’s decision to relocate FBI headquarters
Maryland's elected officials praised the decision in a joint statement, stating that the new building would satisfy a "dire, longstanding need for a new consolidated headquarters" and that their drive to move the FBI headquarters there was "never about politics."
Democratic Senator Ben Cardin also stated that the state's location was perfect because of its accessibility to public transit and the substantial cost savings for taxpayers.
“We’re very happy about this location. We’ve got a lot more work to do,” Cardin said, according to News 4 Jax. However, news of the choice brought frustrated criticism from Virginia leaders.
Democratic Sen Mark Warner of Virginia told reporters he had not been officially notified of the selection, but if true, “it would be evidence of gross political interference in an established GSA process that both states went through and it would be frankly more reminiscent of the tactics from the last administration.”
In a joint statement with Sen Tim Kaine, he expressed his disappointment that Virginia, the location of the FBI Academy, was shelved in the “clear case.”