The FBI headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C., may see a location change soon — or not, if federal agents get their way.
Leaders within the FBI are seeking to remain in the district, noting the proximity of the headquarters, located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, to the Department of Justice. However, lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia have secured language in President Joe Biden’s budget proposal to move operations into nearby suburbs.
“The FBI Agents Association supports what’s best for the FBI mission, and we believe what is best for the mission is for FBI headquarters to remain in Washington, D.C., in close proximity to the Department of Justice and our DOJ counterparts,” said Brian O’Hare, president of the FBI Agents Association, in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
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Despite deteriorating conditions of the building, the FBI has argued the current location has become a more feasible option in previous years due to the relocation of some jobs and construction updates that provide better protection against threats.
“The FBI can more effectively serve the American people from a headquarters located downtown,” the FBI said in a statement. “But our mission would be enhanced by a consolidated suburban cyber and technology campus within the national capitol region to serve as a command center for cyber operations, consolidate the FBI’s existing cyber and technology footprint, and accommodate future growth.”
The Biden plan would have the General Services Administration select a new location for the FBI campus, to house 7,500 employees, while also selecting another location in Washington to support up to 1,000 personnel, a compromise stemming from FBI concerns that agents would need to be close to the Justice Department, the White House, and Congress.
“The J. Edgar Hoover building can no longer support the longterm mission of the FBI,” the Biden administration wrote in its budget proposal. “The Administration has begun a multi-year process of constructing a modern, secure suburban facility from which the FBI can continue its mission to protect the American people.”
Lawmakers and FBI agents agree the building has deteriorated over the years, prompting security concerns, particularly in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Under the Obama administration, the FBI worked with Congress and the GSA to seek a new location in either Virginia or Maryland. However, these plans largely stalled under former President Donald Trump, who announced plans in July 2017 to rebuild on-site.
Democrats accused the former president of merely protecting his own business ventures, arguing he didn’t want competing developers to purchase the site.
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The agency’s headquarters has stood in Washington since the agency’s inception in 1908, first sharing a building with the Justice Department before moving to its current location in 1975.
It’s unclear what steps can be taken by the FBI to reverse course on the relocation or whether it will agree to the Biden administration’s compromise.
