In an unprecedented political and legal competition, Virginia and Maryland are head-to-head in order to get the new headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) built in one of those states.
On Wednesday morning, in a rare recent display of bipartisan unity, regarding a dozen Virginia elected and community leaders laid out why the new FBI headquarters should be located in the Springfield area.
“We are here to welcome the FBI to Fairfax County,” said upbeat Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay at a news conference on the Northern Virginia Community College campus.
The press event came following Virginia’s congressional delegation – all Democrats – and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent a letter to the heads of the General Services Administration (GSA) and the FBI, detailing the ways in which Springfield best meets the five selection criteria for choosing a location set by both agencies.
Criteria include support for the FBI’s mission; access to transportation; site development flexibility; promote sustainable location and promote equity; and cost.
McKay cited the proximity of the Springfield location to the FBI Academy, located in Quantico, as well as nearby Metro, VRE train service and different bus lines.
Also, building a new FBI headquarters in Springfield would be cheaper than in Maryland, according to McKay. “The site is already federally owned, which means the GSA can start working on this site now.”
Maryland responde
On the other side of the argument was Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, also a Democrat, who defended the two Maryland sites under consideration (Landover and Greenbelt) and strongly criticized what she considered the bias of the process, saying that ” they tried to rig it” at the last minute.
One of his main arguments was the emphasis placed on the proximity of the Virginia location to Quantico. Alsobrooks conceded that “you can’t beat Virginia,” but also wondered why that proximity suddenly matters now.
“The books are cooking in Virginia’s favor,” Alsobrooks charged. “This has been a 10-year process. Everyone with any level of honesty should see the criteria…it wasn’t critical last June, July or August. He was not critical for the past 10 years. It became critical in September 2022,” she maintained.
“At the last minute it became critical, not just critical, it’s criteria number 1. Everything smells bad at this point and anyone who can’t smell that, there’s something wrong with their nose,” he said sarcastically.
Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer and Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, all Democrats, tried unsuccessfully to adjust how criteria were weighted in the spending bill. They believe the current weighting unfairly favors the Springfield location for its proximity to Quantico and de-prioritizes racial equity and cost.
“The way they weighed this is just wrong,” Cardin said, arguing that it doesn’t make sense to put as many shares close to Quantico and less in shares and costs. “It seems like it’s just aimed at trying to help tip the scales toward Virginia.”
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THE FBI AND GSA RESPONSE
- FBI spokeswoman Sofia Kettler explained in a statement that the proximity to Quantico was included because the FBI Academy “is a central part of the daily operations of the FBI, today and in the future.”
- For its part, the GSA simply said the agency would listen to everyone.
- “GSA and the FBI are deliberately and thoughtfully engaging with our partners in Congress on this project, including through consultations outlined in the appropriations bill,” the GSA said in a statement.
- “We look forward to feedback from interested parties and are also committed to a fair and transparent process that results in the selection of a site that best meets the long-term needs of the FBI and the American people.”
- Consultations for Maryland and Virginia with the GSA are expected to begin the week of February 27 or March 6.
