FBI to Move 1,500 Employees Out of DC Region as HQ Move Remains in Limbo
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is moving 1,500 employees out of the Washington, DC area, and plans to leave its current headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in downtown DC.
About 11,000 FBI employees currently work in the DC area, roughly one-third of the total FBI workforce.
“A third of the crime doesn’t happen here, so we’re taking 1,500 of those folks and moving them out,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Every state is getting a plus up.”
About 1,000 FBI workers will be headed to various parts of the country, with the director indicating that every state will see a personnel boost.
An additional 500 employees are headed to the FBI’s facility at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The personnel moves are slated to take place over the next three to nine months.
Director Patel was recently in Huntsville, calling the facility one of the “crown jewels of the FBI,” noting that the agency built five new buildings, a cyber training facility, and a long-range facility. It’s also equipped with a Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) and a Ballistic Research Facility (BRF).
“Because we have had new buildings and new structures already there, we need our outdated facilities and personnel to move to Huntsville, where the training has been set up for them, and fill those seats,” said Director Patel.
“The FBI’s operations on Redstone Arsenal are at the forefront of 21st-century innovation and training needed to combat the threats of the future, and I am confident Redstone will be instrumental in fulfilling the FBI’s core mission for decades to come,” said Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) who accompanied Director Patel on his visit.
Headquarters Future
Up in the air are the FBI’s plans for relocating its headquarters. The one thing that is clear however, is that the Trump Administration wants out of the current Hoover building.
"This FBI is leaving the Hoover building because this building is unsafe for our workforce and we want… the American men and women to know, if you're going to come work at the premier law enforcement agency in the world, we're going to give you a building that's commensurate with that, and that's not this place,” said Director Patel.
The FBI had planned to build a new headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland. However, an inspector general report faulted the selection process, which passed over a rival site in Springfield, Virginia. President Trump then said he planned to stop the move to Greenbelt and urged construction of a new headquarters in DC.
But lawmakers in Maryland say Greenbelt is the way to go.
“This site was selected based on a thorough, objective process examining cost, construction timeline, transportation access, community impact, and the FBI's mission requirements,” wrote members of Congress from Maryland. "Team Maryland remains committed to providing the world's premier law enforcement agency with the world's premier law enforcement facility. If the Trump Administration truly shares that goal, it will work with us to proceed on this project."