Virginia delegation fumes over FBI headquarters decision

Virginia leaders are fuming over the Biden administration’s decision to build the new FBI headquarters in Maryland instead of their home state.

The Biden administration picked Greenbelt, Md., to house the new FBI headquarters after a yearslong selection process that included three finalists, the alternatives being Landover, Md., and Springfield, Va. Members of the Virginia congressional delegation accused the process of being “tainted” and urged the administration to reverse the decision. 

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) issued a joint statement condemning the decision on Wednesday, saying that they were “deeply disappointed.” They also maintained that Virginia is the best location for the new headquarters underneath the initial criteria put forward by the FBI.

“It’s especially disappointing that the FBI’s initial criteria for this decision—developed independently by the GSA and affirmed by Congress just last year—were changed at the 11th hour by the Administration following political pressure,” the senators wrote. 

“We spent years appropriately criticizing the last Administration for politicizing the new FBI headquarters—only for a new Administration to come in and allow politics to taint the selection process,” they added. 

One of the criteria included how close the new headquarters would be to the FBI’s Quantico — a preference that Maryland politicians decried as “not fair” earlier this year. The GSA lowered the importance of the new headquarters being close to Quantico later on this year, decreasing the weight from 35 percent to 25 percent, making Greenbelt a more favorable option.

Eight of the 11 Virginia Representatives also signed a statement with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and the two Senators criticizing the move as having political interference. The Virginia leaders alluded to concerns brought by FBI Christopher Wray on Thursday, who said he was worried there was a “potential conflict of interest” in an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. 

“We are deeply disturbed to learn that a political appointee at the General Services Administration overruled the unanimous recommendation of a three-person panel comprised of career experts from the GSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluding that Springfield, Virginia is the site best suited for the new FBI headquarters,” the Virginia leaders wrote. 

“We have repeatedly condemned political interference in the independent, agency-run site selection process for a new FBI headquarters. Any fair weighing of the criteria points to a selection of Virginia,” they continued. “It is clear that this process has been irrevocably undermined and tainted, and this decision must now be reversed.”

Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) all signed on to the statement. 

The AP reported that in an internal email, Wray said that a board that included representatives from the GSA and the FBI unanimously agreed on Springfield, Va. However, he said a senior executive at GSA overruled the committee and decided on Greenbelt instead.

The GSA said this reported claim by Wray was inaccurate and said that the choice of Greenbelt “is fully consistent with the decision-making process as well as all laws, regulations, and ethical considerations.”

“GSA and FBI teams have spent countless hours working closely together over many months, so we’re disappointed that the FBI Director is now making inaccurate claims directed at our agency, our employees, and our site selection plan and process,” U.S. General Services Administrator Robin Carnahan said in a statement.

While his colleagues expressed outrage with the decision to build the headquarters in Maryland instead of Virginia, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said in a statement that there should be no new building at all.

“We ought not to be building a new FBI building at all. We ought not to be borrowing and spending taxpayer money to build a multibillion dollar facility that is larger than the Pentagon,” Good said.

“Instead, we ought to be SCRUTINIZING the money spent by a compromised FBI that continues silencing conservatives, targeting parents and faith groups, and carrying out witch hunts against political opponents,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to Reps. Ben Cline (R-Va.) and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) for comment.

Updated at 5:44 pm.