5 questions about the FBI headquarters move

1. What is happening with the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover Building?

FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday that the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington is closing, with the bureau relocating to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Pennsylvania Avenue. Mr. Patel said the move will save billions of dollars compared to the previous plan and allow the transition to begin immediately with required safety and infrastructure upgrades already underway.

2. Why is this decision significant?

The announcement ends more than 20 years of failed attempts to address the FBI headquarters issue and reverses a 2023 decision to build a new facility in Greenbelt, Maryland. Mr. Patel said taxpayers were about to be on the hook for nearly $5 billion for a new headquarters that wouldn’t open until 2035, and the new plan will deliver better tools for the FBI workforce at a fraction of the cost while allowing more manpower to be deployed in the field.

3. What was the original plan and who opposes the change?

The General Services Administration selected Greenbelt in Prince George’s County, Maryland, as the future FBI headquarters site in 2023, ending a competitive, yearslong process between Virginia and Maryland suburbs. Maryland leaders sued the Trump administration last month for reneging on the Greenbelt plans, with Governor Wes Moore arguing the move to the Reagan Building is illegal and that the new location is “too old, too small, and too exposed,” putting law enforcement in jeopardy.

4. What is President Trump’s position on the headquarters location?

Mr. Trump said in July that he preferred the FBI stay in the city, stating he would stop the plan to build an FBI headquarters “three hours away in Maryland, a liberal state” and instead build another big FBI building right where the current one is located. Mr. Patel said he worked directly with the presidentand Congress to finalize the plan to move to the Reagan Building.

5. What are the next steps and timeline?

Mr. Patel did not specify exactly when the closure and move will occur, saying only that the transition will begin immediately. Once complete, most of the FBI headquarters workforce will move to the Reagan Building, while the rest will continue the bureau’s ongoing push to put more personnel in field offices where they will remain. 

Read more: Kash Patel says FBI leaving Hoover Building, staying in D.C.