Greenbelt, Maryland, was selected as the site for the new FBI headquarters in November 2023 under the Biden administration, a move Maryland leaders praised at the time.
“The Maryland site for the FBI’s new HQ is build ready, and best meets the needs of the FBI,” Moore posted on X on Saturday. “That’s why we won 4 out of the 5 selection criteria. Turning this into a partisan issue makes our country less safe and harms the FBI’s mission of protecting Americans at home and abroad.”
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), who was Prince George’s County Executive when Greenbelt was selected to host the FBI’s new headquarters, praised the move as another way to bring jobs to the county at the time.
“This is yet another way for us to bring additional jobs to the county that will of course increase the tax revenues that the county is able to realize,” Alsobrooks said. “We expect that other businesses and consultants will also locate their businesses in the vicinity of the FBI headquarters.”
Greenbelt is already the site of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which employs thousands of people.
Trump put a damper on Maryland’s optimism about hosting the headquarters when he said he wants to keep it in Washington, D.C.
“They were going to build an FBI headquarters three hours away in Maryland, a liberal state,” Trump said, adding that the state’s political leanings had “no bearing” on his decision. “But we’re going to stop it. We’re not going to let that happen. We’re going to build another big FBI building right where it is.”
Greenbelt is less than 15 miles away from the existing headquarters, a much shorter drive than the three hours Trump suggested.
The Trump administration is likely to face challenges if it does decide to block the headquarters from being built in Greenbelt after the Biden administration selected the town as the site for the building.
Maryland’s entire congressional delegation, including Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), released a statement on Friday blasting the move.
“The FBI needs a new headquarters that meets its mission,” they said. “The GSA selected Greenbelt for the new, consolidated FBI headquarters based on the fact that it is the best site and it offers the lowest price and the best value to the taxpayers. What’s more, it ensures that the FBI can move to a facility that will finally meet its mission and security needs as soon as possible. We will continue working to bring the headquarters to Maryland, following the final decision that was made to do so in 2023.”
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Springfield, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., were also considered as sites for a new FBI headquarters during the selection process.
Trump’s recent position is in line with his previous comments on the new FBI headquarters. “The new FBI building should be built in Washington, D.C, not Maryland, and be the centerpiece of my plan to totally renovate and rebuild our capital city into the most beautiful and safest anywhere in the world,” Trump posted in all-caps last May.
