Plans to move the FBI headquarters out of the District are now back on track after being shelved during the Trump administration, and lawmakers from Virginia and Maryland are wasting no time campaigning for a decision that could come in a matter of weeks.
The much-anticipated move from the FBI’s longtime home at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington comes as the 2.8-million-square-foot headquarters, which opened its doors in 1975, is in dire need of repair. Many government officials, including President Joe Biden, have questioned the building’s ability to support the FBI’s future mission.
Three new locations were selected as possibilities during the Obama administration, according to a Fox 5 report. Springfield is reportedly the lone location in Virginia, while Landover and Greenbelt comprise Maryland’s options.
In a last-minute pitch, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) lauded the Commonwealth’s unique ability to enhance the FBI’s long-term mission with a facility that could dramatically improve law enforcement and national security missions.
“I’m glad that the Biden Administration recognizes that need and is working to select a site for a new FBI HQ,” Warner told Fox 5. “I’m going to continue to work with the administration to deliver an FBI headquarters that best supports the mission of the men and women of the FBI, and strongly believe in the merits of the Northern Virginia site.”
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, meanwhile, suggested that Prince George’s County should be the obvious front runner, with his office citing “close proximity to Washington — as well as world-class research and educational institutions, cybersecurity and defense facilities, and other assets valuable to the FBI’s ongoing missions.”
In a statement provided to Fox 5, FBI officials confirmed the Bureau’s upcoming departure from the District, while offering no timetable.
“GSA and the FBI are committed to … a large new suburban FBI HQ campus,” the statement read, “as well as a downtown facility to allow for continued FBI accessibility to the public and close proximity to the Department of Justice and other key downtown partners.”
Feature image, Kristina Blokhin/stock.adobe.com
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