President Donald Trump’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year excluded any funding for a new FBI headquarters as the prospect remains bogged down by unresolved questions including the extent of the White House’s involvement in the decision to scrap a regional search in favor of a downtown D.C. location for the facility.
The General Services Administration’s budget does not seek any appropriations for fiscal 2021, and the FBI’s own budget takes things a step further by rescinding $150 million the Department of Justice agency carved out for the multibillion-dollar project.
Representatives for the FBI continue to work with the Trump administration and Congress to find a path forward for the project, according to an FBI spokesperson. But for the time being, the agency’s space challenges, including the deteriorating condition of the agency’s J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown D.C., remain.
“While the President’s FY 2021 budget request does not include funding to advance the new FBI headquarters project, the need for a new facility has not abated,” the agency spokesperson said in an email to the Washington Business Journal. “The FBI needs a building capable of meeting the increased demands for the nation’s premier national security and law enforcement organization — a facility that will enable and enhance the FBI’s work for decades to come.”