Springfield Site For FBI Headquarters Backed Again By Fairfax County Board Of Supervisors

SPRINGFIELD, VA — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion on Tuesday to send a new letter to federal officials reiterating the county's support for Springfield serving as the new location for the FBI’s headquarters.

With a decision on the new location for the FBI's headquarters possibly only months away, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay, who introduced the motion, said the time was appropriate to reiterate the county’s support for Springfield.

“As the board well knows, the Springfield site has many advantages over the other sites, both of which are in Maryland, and are formally in competition,” McKay said at Tuesday’s meeting. “The Springfield site provides unparalleled access to other federal sites, including the FBI National Academy and the FBI Laboratory at Marine Corps Base Quantico.”

The new letter to the U.S. General Services Administration and the FBI follows a letter sent in April 2022 indicating the board’s support for placing the FBI’s new headquarters at a federally owned site in Springfield.

The GSA is considering the Springfield site on Loisdale Road and sites in Landover and Greenbelt in Maryland. In its site criteria, the GSA has noted that "promoting sustainable siting" and "advancing equity" will be taken into consideration in its decision-making process.

Maryland's new governor, Wes Moore, has said that getting the FBI headquarters moved to Prince George’s County will be a top priority for his administration.

The Springfield site, which currently houses a complex of GSA warehouses, has the “full support” of Virginia's representatives in Congress, the Virginia General Assembly, and local leaders, McKay states in the new letter to the FBI and GSA.

“This universal backing stems from a number of factors, all of which lead us to definitively state that the Springfield site is head and shoulders above the competition and makes the most sense for residents and taxpayers alike,” the letter says.

McKay said at Tuesday's board meeting that Maryland officials have cited "equity" as a reason to move the FBI headquarters to Prince George's County.

"We are second to none when it comes to addressing equity," McKay said about Fairfax County and its One Fairfax policy.

Supervisor James Walkinshaw (Braddock District) said Maryland's delegation in Congress has used "every technique, tactic, tool, lever to try to steer this in the direction of Maryland."

"They've used authorization bills. They've used appropriation bills, some tactics that you don't see very often within the regional delegation, quite frankly," Walkinshaw said about the competition to see which state gets the new FBI headquarters.

If this decision is made on the merits, the Springfield site is the "clear winner," according to Walkinshaw. "So I'm hopeful that the decision will be made on the merits and the political tactics that we've seen from some and Maryland won't be won't be successful," he said.

The new letter, signed by McKay, states the federal government will find great advantages to moving the FBI headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Springfield and Fairfax County, where more than 182 different languages are spoken at home.

"The Greater Springfield area is a majority-minority community, and the new FBI headquarters would provide an economic boost to this underserved community," the letter states. "On sustainability, Virginia is ranked in the top 10 by the U.S. Green Building Coalition for our high concentration of sustainable buildings and livable communities."