Ignoring Reagan, Embracing Waste

President Trump’s decision to relocate the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) headquarters from the crumbling J. Edward Hoover FBI Building, where the agency had been located since 1974, to the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, which opened in 1998, was a prime example of the commonsense approach being taken by his administration to save money.  But Maryland members of Congress were quick to cry foul, fearing the loss of new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Rather than just saying yes to this reasonable proposal, on July 10, 2025, the Senate Appropriations Committee reaffirmed its intention to build the new FBI headquarters in Maryland by approving an amendment to the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill (CJS).  The move to the Reagan building would cost taxpayers $555 million, while the new building would cost between $3 to $4.5 billion.  It would take at least 10 years to complete and would be the most expensive federal building project in U.S. history, more than the CIA’s headquarters and the Pentagon.

The Committee’s insistence on moving the FBI headquarters to Maryland is a costly example of pork-barrel spending.  The amendment was pushed by CJS Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has a vested interest in having the new FBI headquarters built in his state.  The project would  bring 2,000 jobs and an estimated $4 billion in economic activity to Maryland.  However, these advances would happen at the expense the American taxpayers, who would all benefit from a lower-cost office space.  And FBI Director Kash Patel wants to move 1,500 agents away from the D.C. area, lessening the need to build a massive and expensive new building.

An April 9, 2025, Government Accountability Office (GAO) report stated that the backlog of repairs for federal buildings rose by 54 percent, from $171 billion in FY 2017 to $370 billion in FY 2024.  Federal real property has been on GAO’s High-Risk List since 2003.

During an April 8, 2025, House DOGE Subcommittee hearing on reducing the federal government real estate portfolio, Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) cited the July 13, 2023, GAO report that found that 17 of 24 federal agencies were utilizing less than 25 percent of their headquarters building in Washington, D.C.  She also noted that the General Services Administration has a new objective to cut federally owned property by 50 percent, and that it would set an example by moving its headquarters to a shared space and selling its building.  The hearing re-emphasized how taxpayers bear higher and more pointless costs for federal property every year and how pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into the construction of new buildings is both wasteful and counterintuitive.

Other efforts to reduce the government real estate footprint include S. 2173, the For Sale Act, which would require the sale of six buildings in Washington, D.C., including the headquarters for the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services.  Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has led the effort to downsize the federal government’s vacant and underutilized property, introduced the bill on June 25, 2025.  It would raise at least $400 million and save $2.9 billion in deferred maintenance.  The legislation would expand upon Sen. Ernst’s successful effort to force the sale of the Wilbur J. Cohen building, which had 2 percent occupancy.

Moving the FBI to the Reagan building may still occur.  After the amendment was agreed to by the Appropriations Committee, Republicans refused to support the legislation and will attempt to work out a compromise.  Sen. Van Hollen’s demand to forge ahead with the new headquarters is impractical and should be overturned, and the effort to eliminate unused and underutilized federal property should advance.