FBI's Choice for New Headquarters Raises Questions

The decision by the Biden administration to move the FBI national headquarters from central Washington D.C. to Greenbelt, Maryland has raised questions about the selection process, "political pressure" and planning hurdles.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal buildings, announced that it had chosen the site—a suburb of the capital some 13 miles from the city center—on Wednesday, prompting praise from Maryland lawmakers and disapproval from Virginia legislators, both of whom had competed over a number of years for the lucrative contract.

In a statement provided to the Associated Press, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said that the agency "looks forward to building the FBI a state-of-the-art headquarters campus in Greenbelt to advance their critical mission for years to come."

It added that the new $3.5 billion facility in Greenbelt would cost less to construct, provided the best transport links and had the most certainty around the delivery schedule.

Discussions over a new site to replace the J. Edgar Hoover building on Pennsylvania Avenue have been ongoing for years, after the brutalist building—completed in 1977 and named after the agency's longest-serving director—was deemed unfit for continued use and too expensive to repair.

A recent analysis by the GSA said that the Hoover building "can no longer support the long-term mission of the FBI," was "near end-of-life and structural issues continue to mount, making the current building unsustainable."

As well as the Greenbelt site, two other potential locations were selected for consideration before the final decision was made: Landover Mall, also in Maryland and to the east of the D.C. city limit, as well as Springfield, Virginia, to the west of Alexandria.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, members of Congress representing Maryland and Governor Wes Moore said the Greenbelt site was "best suited to serve the present and future FBI and the dedicated public servants who work tirelessly to protect America."

"The GSA's analysis of the facts and its consultations revealed that the Greenbelt site is the most fitting site of the three final candidates when all factors were considered together," they added.

However, several concerns about the choice have already been raised by stakeholders.

Both The Washington Post, which first reported on the decision, as well as AP, reported that the FBI had expressed concerns about the selection process, but that sources within the agency had not disclosed what those concerns were. FBI leadership has previously stated its desire to remain in the capital due to the close proximity to the Department of Justice.

When Newsweek approached the FBI for comment, a spokesperson pointed to a Thursday letter to employees by director Christopher Wray, which said the agency had concerns "about fairness and transparency in the process and GSA's failure to adhere to its own site selection plan."

He added that while working with the GSA "we identified concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving the site selection authority and whether changes that individual made in the final stage of the process adhered to the site selection criteria" which "remain unresolved."

Wray stressed that the FBI's qualms were "not with the decision itself but with the process."

In response, Carnahan said the GSA was "disappointed that the FBI Director is now making inaccurate claims directed at our agency, our employees, and our site selection plan and process."

"Any suggestion that there was inappropriate interference is unfounded," she added. "The choice of Greenbelt, Maryland, is fully consistent with the decision-making process as well as all laws, regulations, and ethical considerations. We stand behind the process, the decision, and all of the public servants who carefully followed the process and made a good decision on behalf of the FBI and the public."

Virginia's senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, issued a statement expressing their disappointment that the site in their state was not picked, "despite the clear case that Virginia is the best home for the FBI."

They claimed the FBI's criteria for the project were changed at the last minute due to "political pressure," without disclosing where that pressure had come from, and accused the Biden administration of allowing "politics to taint the selection process."

Virginia's leadership previously argued that the Springfield site would place the FBI headquarters closer to its Quantico training academy, and would place it in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, which Greenbelt also has.

Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democratic congressman, also claimed that the GSA had "shamelessly caved to political pressure" and said the agency's reputation had taken a "moral hit."

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported the proposal could still face zoning issues. The land is owned by the State of Maryland and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and sits near a metro station, while the Springfield site would have sat on land owned by GSA and is situated near another metro station.

A GSA spokesperson did not respond to these other concerns when approached by Newsweek.

Update 11/10/23, 3:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from FBI Director Christopher Wray and GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.