Kash Patel is Shutting Down FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. [WATCH]

FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday that the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the longtime headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C., will be permanently shut down, marking a significant operational shift for the bureau and ending decades of debate over the aging facility.

MOVING OUT: FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau has finalized plans to permanently close the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building, ending years of debate over the agency’s deteriorating headquarters.

The FBI HQ will relocate most of its staff to the existing Ronald Reagan… pic.twitter.com/ZHSRrkyuHS

— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 27, 2025

Patel made the announcement in a post on X, formalizing plans he first disclosed publicly in May during an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.

Because Congress controls federal appropriations and the disposition of government buildings, Patel worked through congressional channels before finalizing the decision.

“December 26: Shutting down the Hoover Building,” Patel wrote.

“After more than 20 years of failed attempts, we finalized a plan to permanently close the FBI’s Hoover headquarters and move the workforce into a safe, modern facility. Working directly with President Trump and Congress, we accomplished what no one else could.”

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Patel said the decision followed a review of the projected costs and timeline associated with a previously proposed replacement headquarters.

“When we arrived, taxpayers were about to be on the hook for nearly $5 billion for a new headquarters that wouldn’t open until 2035,” he wrote.

“We scrapped that plan.”

Instead, Patel said the FBI selected the Ronald Reagan Building, an existing federal facility in Washington, D.C., as the bureau’s new headquarters location.

“Instead, we selected the already-existing Reagan Building, saving billions and allowing the transition to begin immediately with required safety and infrastructure upgrades already underway,” Patel wrote.

According to Patel, once renovations are completed, most of the FBI’s headquarters workforce will relocate to the Reagan Building, while other personnel will be reassigned outside Washington as part of a broader effort to expand the bureau’s field presence.

“Once complete, most of the HQ FBI workforce will move in, and the rest are continuing in our ongoing push to put more manpower in the field, where they will remain,” he wrote.

Patel said the move reflects a strategic reallocation of resources. “This decision puts resources where they belong: defending the homeland, crushing violent crime, and protecting national security,” he wrote.

“It delivers better tools for today’s FBI workforce at a fraction of the cost. The Hoover Building will be shut down permanently.”

December 26: Shutting down the Hoover Building.

After more than 20 years of failed attempts, we finalized a plan to permanently close the FBI’s Hoover headquarters and move the workforce into a safe, modern facility. Working directly with President Trump and Congress, we…

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) December 26, 2025

The J. Edgar Hoover Building has faced criticism for decades over cost overruns and maintenance issues.

Initial plans for construction were set in 1963, with an estimated cost of $60 million.

The project was not completed until more than a decade later, with final costs reaching approximately $126 million.

During his confirmation hearing as FBI Director, Patel discussed his views on the bureau’s concentration of personnel in Washington, D.C.

He reiterated his goal of shifting agents and analysts out of headquarters roles and into field offices across the country.

“A third of the workforce for the FBI works in Washington, D.C.,” Patel said during the hearing.

“I am fully committed to having that workforce go out into the interior of the country, where I live west of the Mississippi, and work with sheriff’s departments and local officers.”

Some FBI personnel currently assigned to Washington are on temporary duty and are expected to return to their home field offices.

Officials have also acknowledged that some employees may choose retirement rather than relocation.

Patel has also outlined plans to expand the FBI’s footprint at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

In a Senate oversight hearing earlier this year, Patel told Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) that those plans were already underway.

Thank you, @FBIDirectorKash, for your strong commitment to FBI Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. pic.twitter.com/bO9OZECDxg

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) May 8, 2025

In mid-December, FBI Deputy Assistant Director for IT Infrastructure Kevin Jones briefed elected officials and personnel at Redstone Arsenal on the expansion.

Jones said approximately 2,200 FBI personnel are currently stationed at the facility, including about 500 agents who relocated from Washington.

He said the bureau plans to increase that number to 4,000 by 2030.

Jones said the Huntsville site will become one of the largest FBI operational hubs in the country.

Personnel will work out of the Richard Shelby Center for Innovation and Advanced Technology, the official name of the FBI’s campus at Redstone Arsenal.

Initial operations are being housed at the North Campus building, which supports technology, cyber operations, analytics, and training environments.

The closure of the Hoover Building represents a major structural change for the FBI, as leadership continues to implement plans aimed at reducing headquarters staffing levels and expanding field-based operations nationwide.

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