By Steve Neavling
As the Biden administration and Congress work on plans to move the FBI headquarters to the suburbs, the bureau wants to stay in Washington D.C. because of its proximity to the Justice Department.
“The FBI Agents Association supports what’s best for the FBI mission, and we believe what is best for the mission is for FBI headquarters to remain in Washington, D.C., in close proximity to the Department of Justice and our DOJ counterparts,” Brian O’Hare, president of the FBI Agents Association, told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
Although the headquarters is cramped and deteriorating, the FBI said the current building is a better option.
“The FBI can more effectively serve the American people from a headquarters located downtown,” the FBI said in a statement. “But our mission would be enhanced by a consolidated suburban cyber and technology campus within the national capitol region to serve as a command center for cyber operations, consolidate the FBI’s existing cyber and technology footprint, and accommodate future growth.”
In its 2023 budget request, the Biden administration revived long-stalled plans to build a new headquarters in suburban Maryland or Virginia.
“The J. Edgar Hoover building can no longer support the longterm mission of the FBI,” the Biden administration wrote in its budget proposal. “The Administration has begun a multi-year process of constructing a modern, secure suburban facility from which the FBI can continue its mission to protect the American people.”
