Senate Panel Advances FBI Headquarters Move to Downtown DC, Sidelines Maryland Site

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee recently removed language from a funding bill that would have restricted the FBI's headquarters relocation to Prince George’s County, Maryland, effectively allowing the Trump administration to move the agency to the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C. This decision reversed a bipartisan amendment championed by Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, which had initially blocked the reallocation of $555 million earmarked for the Maryland site. Senator Lisa Murkowski, who had supported Van Hollen’s amendment citing security concerns, later reversed her position after a briefing by FBI Director Kash Patel and the General Services Administration’s recommendation for the D.C. site, despite ongoing debates over security assessments. Maryland lawmakers criticized the move as a political maneuver undermining long-term security and economic benefits tied to the suburban campus, which had been in planning for over 15 years. Van Hollen argued the decision bypassed Congress and ignored the results of a thorough, bipartisan site selection process, while Murkowski urged caution given incomplete independent security reviews. The relocation effort, spanning multiple administrations, aims to address structural and security issues at the FBI’s current headquarters, known as the Hoover Building.