Donald Trump Jr. Slams Omnibus Funding for New FBI Headquarters: 'Pathetic'

Donald Trump Jr. has slammed the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill over funding for a new FBI headquarters.

The bill, which would fund the U.S. government throughout 2023, was released Tuesday by senior congressional members in both parties. But it has been met with criticism from conservatives, who raised concerns about its price tag. If the bill does not pass in the evenly divided Senate, a government shutdown could begin as soon as this weekend.

Some conservatives are also opposing the bill because it includes plans to construct a new FBI headquarters in either Maryland or Virginia. In August, the FBI became a political target for the GOP after FBI agents seized classified documents at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Conservatives accused the agency of political bias against the former president and other conservatives.

Additionally, conservatives have criticized the FBI after the recent release of internal Twitter documents, known as "the Twitter Files," about the agency's interactions with the social media platform. The documents allege that Twitter suppressed a New York Post story about Hunter Biden's laptop and that the FBI "discredited factual information about Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings" in communications with Twitter executives.

Trump Jr., the ex-president's eldest son, has also voiced criticism of the FBI and blasted the omnibus bill as "pathetic" in a tweet Tuesday morning. Other conservatives have pushed Senate Republicans to vote against the bill because of the FBI headquarters funding.

"To be clear... the @SenateGOP is going to HELP Democrats get the FBI a new headquarters... wherever Democrats decide it should go around the swamp... after we KNOW the FBI has been targeting Americans," tweeted Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican. "And the @HouseGOP is getting rolled."

Digital strategist Greg Price tweeted: "You know how we've all been really angry at the FBI lately for rigging elections, censoring conservatives, and raiding the homes of innocent people and stuff. Well, the Omnibus will gift them with a brand new headquarters in either Virginia or Maryland."

The Twitter account @amuse said: "While Congress should be defunding the FBI they're instead building our nation's #PraetorianGuard a brand new headquarters. It is time to fire the FBI's leadership and split the rest of the organization up moving most everyone to DHS."

In a statement to Newsweek, an FBI spokesperson declined to comment specifically on Trump's tweet but said the need for a new FBI headquarters has been "well documented for over a decade" because components of its current building "have reached the end of their useful lives."

"Further, new HQ facilities would allow the FBI to consolidate portions of its national capital region workforce, which is currently scattered across multiple leased locations," the spokesperson said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he wants to wrap up the funding deal, but House Republicans are urging him to put it off until 2023, when the GOP-led House could give Republicans more leverage. McConnell has gotten criticism from other Republicans, including Trump, over the bill.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters last week that Senate Republicans should vote against the omnibus bill.

"They're trying to jam us right before Christmas. Why would you ever move forward when there's a change in power in 21 days where Republicans would have a stronger hand?" McCarthy said. "We wouldn't be talking about adding more money. We'd talk about decreasing."

Update 12/21/2022, 7:13 a.m. ET: This story was updated with a comment from the FBI.