The FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, on November 23, 2023 (photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)
This report has been updated.
Washington -The Trump government’s plan to move the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the Ronald Reagan building in the District of Columbia, and no previously selected location in the suburb of Maryland, on Thursday on a street lock.
The Committee on Means of the Senate voted a change in federal financing for a change by the Democratic Senator of Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, which was excluded to postpone the FBI by its current headquarters in the deteriorating J. Edgar Hoover building to another place at the Greenbelt location.
The change was added to the FBI’s annual State Finance Act, although the cross -party support of the legislation was dried out after the change, which was looking for the committee for a solution. The panel went into an indefinite break.
A “snap pound” of Geldern
Van Hollen argued The choice of the Trump government Leaving the site in his state was arbitrary and did not follow The decades of process Ultimately, this led to the federal government selected a suburban location.
“If we allow the executive whoever the president may be, we can give funds that this committee and this congress for the purposes prescribed by us can open the door to take a lot more money,” said van Hollen.
The Trump government, he added, did not analyze whether the Ronald Reagan Building would meet the FBI’s security and mission requirements. The building in 1300 Pennsylvania NW, the road along the White House and together with the international trade center, now houses US customs and border protection offices that are the administrative officials of Trump Administration said would move elsewhere.
Murkowski sits down with Democrats
The Republican Senator of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, voted with all Democrats of the Committee with the approval of the change with 15 to 14 votes.
Murkowski said that “fairness” she was one of many who believed that the up-to-date location for the FBI headquarters had been settled for a long time and “was a bit surprised that this was now a problem in front of us.”
She said she wanted to understand how exactly the Trump government decided that the Ronald Reagan building was a protected place for the FBI headquarters and suggested that van Hollen withdraw its change until the committee could be informed.
“On the one hand, I would like to know that this analysis has actually been available for more than just a few months -that it has actually made these efforts to ensure that (if) we will go forward, this is the right place and it is the right place, not for a Trump government, not for a bid administration, not for an administration, not for a Jon -Osoff government, but the right place to go to the FBI has.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to start rumors,” she added to laugh.
Microragement criticized by location planning
The chairwoman of the funds, Susan Collins, R-Main, asked van Hollen whether he would withdraw his change in return for a briefing from the FBI director, and found that he could still offer the change if the law was brought up to debate on the ground. He declined.
“The best way would be forward that the committee says that we will not allow money to be spent on an alternative website,” said van Hollen. “And when we are convinced of what we have decided in the past, if we are convinced by the FBI, we could visit this decision again.”
The Republican Senator of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mulllin, spoke against the change and said that the Trump government could exploit the financing to bring the FBI into the request.
“It is ridiculous that we try to make your location planning,” said Mullin. “You will not harm your men and women. We have to allow you to make a decision.”
The change throws the invoice in disorder
The debate about the entire bill was increased a few hours after the change was adopted – including the financing of the departments for trade and judiciary as well as science programs such as NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Collins had given Van Hollen and the chairman of the subcommittee, Jerry Moran, R-Kan, a few hours to convey a kind of deal, but after they could not do so, several GOP senators switched to voting for the draft law.
Then she sent the committee into a break, which will probably take until at least next week to give everyone involved more time to find a kind of cross -party agreement.
“I think it is sad that an issue sank an invoice that was completely non -partisan and was strongly supported on both sides of the gang,” said Collins.
Moran said his “overarching goal was to work with Sen. van Hollen to design a bill and work with them to design a draft law that can not only adopt this committee, but the Senate of the United States”.
“And while we have worked on finding an agreement that leads us in this direction, we are not there,” added Moran. “I don’t know if we are about to be there at all.”
Murkowski said she hoped that the break will lead to a “more serious conversation” between the members of the committee and the Trump administration via the FBI headquarters.
“We are in a place where we are trying to crawl and we couldn’t crawl quickly enough,” said Murkowski. “And it caused people who have decided in good faith at the beginning and now in negative voices and switch back in both directions. That is why there is now total confusion.”
Van Hollen said that he believes that the dispute over who can choose the up-to-date location of the FBI headquarters is “not only important for this special case, but for the greater precedent.”
