By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Two years after celebrating the selection of Greenbelt, Md., as the site of the new Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters, the 47th president’s administration announced its intent to keep the agency in Washington, D.C.
The federal General Services Administration has chosen the Ronald Reagan Building complex, which is currently home to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and former home of the now dismantled United States Agency for International Development, as the FBI’s new location. The J. Edgar Hoover Building in Northwest Washington, the current headquarters, no longer meets the agency’s needs.
“Moving to the Ronald Reagan Building is the most cost effective and resource efficient way to carry out our mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution,” said FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement via a press release by the (GSA) on July 1.
According to GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Michael Peters, the new selection will save Americans billions on new construction and avoid more than $300 million in deferred maintenance costs at the J. Edgar Hoover facility.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), Prince George’s County Executive Aisha N. Braveboy (D) and other state and national legislators representing Maryland responded to this announcement via a joint statement.
“The FBI deserves a headquarters that meets their security and mission needs – and following an extensive, thorough and transparent process, Greenbelt, Md., was selected as the site that best meets those requirements,” they said on July 1. “Not only was this decision final, the Congress appropriated funds specifically for the purpose of the new, consolidated campus to be built in Maryland. 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 of Columbia would not satisfy their security needs.”
“We will be fighting back against this proposal with every tool we have,” they added.
In 2023, Matthew Verghese, the governor’s federal relations director and senior advisor, emphasized the job opportunities that would come from the construction of the headquarters.
He noted that through intentional sub-contracting, minority- and women-owned firms could be at the forefront, helping to ensure opportunities for Black and Brown residents in Maryland and throughout the country.
The governor’s office projected the headquarters would create 7,500 jobs and more than $4 billion in economic activity.