Pause In FBI Headquarters Relocation Urged By VA Lawmakers

VIRGINIA — Virginia officials want the federal government to pause the planned FBI headquarters relocation to Greenbelt, Maryland, while the General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General conducts its investigation into the site selection process.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on Friday, Virginia lawmakers said pausing the headquarters relocation process will allow the inspector general to perform a “transparent and fair review.”

“It is vital that both GSA and the FBI fully cooperate and provide relevant information to the Inspector General’s review, and that they allow time and space for investigatory efforts to reach a thorough conclusion,” the lawmakers wrote.

The Dec. 1 letter to the OMB was signed by U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D) and Reps. Don Beyer (D), Gerry Connolly (D), Morgan Griffith (R), Jen Kiggans (R), Jennifer McClellan (D), Bobby Scott (D), Abigail Spanberger (D), Jennifer Wexton (D), and Rob Wittman (R).

The inspector general’s review comes in response to a Nov. 15 letter sent by the Virginia lawmakers, who requested that the federal watchdog investigate claims that the GSA site selection process was fouled by political interference and impropriety, concerns similar to those raised by FBI Director Christopher Wray.

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“All of the parties involved, including GSA and the FBI, had previously stated publicly the need for a process that was fair, transparent, and determined by the merits of the prospective sites,” the Virginia lawmakers said. “In light of the objections from the FBI, there is concern that this standard was not met. This process must be paused to allow for a fair and transparent review to address these concerns.”

According to the Virginia lawmakers, Wray noted in a message to FBI personnel on Nov. 9, following GSA’s announced selection, that “our concerns about the process remain unresolved.”

The nature of these concerns draws into question the integrity of a site selection process that demanded fairness and transparency, the lawmakers said in their letter to the OMB.

Maryland’s delegation of federal, state, and local government leaders pushed back, in a statement issued Monday night arguing that last year both the Virginia and Maryland delegations agreed the GSA ought to make the site selection decision expeditiously to ensure the FBI would have a headquarters that would meet its vital national security mission.

"Now, the Virginia Delegation believes that the process should only move expeditiously if that decision benefits Virginia," Maryland leaders said Monday. "As we have said before, we remain confident that any Inspector General evaluation will find what we know to be true: the Greenbelt site won on the merits. After assessing the facts, the GSA determined that Greenbelt offers the lowest price and best value to taxpayers, the shortest proximity to public transportation, the most schedule certainty to ensure the FBI can move to a new headquarters that meets its mission and security needs as soon as possible, and the greatest opportunity to advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s equity goals.

Maryland leaders signing the statement include Gov. Wes Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, David Trone, and Glenn Ivey, and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

"The Inspector General evaluation has no bearing on the preparation of a prospectus for the new headquarters; therefore, the only thing the delay requested by the Virginia Delegation would accomplish is to subject the FBI employees and the general public to a dangerous, unhealthy environment and substantially increase the cost to the taxpayer,” the Marylanders said.

In early November, federal officials chose the Greenbelt site over a site in Springfield, Virginia, to build a new FBI headquarters that will replace the agency’s downtown Washington, D.C., location. The new $3 billion FBI headquarters campus will be built on a 61-acre site near the Greenbelt Metro station as part of a mixed-use development.

Prior to last month's announcement, both Virginia and Maryland lawmakers had made the case that their sites would be the best home for the FBI. The Virginia lawmakers cited the Springfield site’s proximity to critical national security facilities and easy access to transit as reasons to locate the headquarters in Virginia.

But last month, the Virginia officials contend, a political appointee in the Biden administration overruled the unanimous recommendation of a three-person panel of career experts and selected Greenbelt as the site for the new FBI headquarters.

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