House Republicans railed against a provision of the $1.2 trillion federal funding package that passed Friday that will fund a new FBI headquarters in Maryland.
Tucked away in the 959-page bill was a line that appropriated $200 million for the General Services Administration to build a new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland. The new funding outraged some House Republicans, who have accused the bureau of political bias.
“The $1.2 trillion, 1000-page swamp-bus released in the dead of night includes $200 MILLION for a new FBI Headquarters So much for those ‘cuts’ to FBI,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted on X.
The FBI funds were included in a list of “sellouts and failures” contained in the spending package posted by Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa.
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Republicans hold a long list of grievances against the FBI including the investigations into former President Trump, an anti-Catholic memo that identified traditional Catholics as potential “terrorists,” and activities during the pandemic to flag so-called misinformation on social media.
The FBI has contested GOP allegations and maintained its law enforcement operations are not influenced by politics. But the bureau’s denials have not quieted its critics.
“The FBI labels parents as domestic terrorists, targets pro-lifers, and wages a war against conservative Americans. Their punishment? $200 MILLION for a new headquarters in this ‘minbus,’” said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo. “Vote NO.”
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In November, the Biden administration announced Greenbelt, a Washington, D.C., suburb, as the home for a new FBI facility to replace the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building, which is blocks away from the White House.
The GSA, which manages the government’s real estate portfolio, said that Greenbelt site about 13 miles northeast of Washington was the cheapest one with the best access to public transit.
Lawmakers approved $375 million for the headquarters project in a government funding bill last year. Rep Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., had put forward an amendment to strip that funding from the fiscal 2023 bill, but was unsuccessful.
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Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., welcomed the additional $200 million for the FBI in a statement Thursday, calling the new building in Prince George’s County one of his “top priorities.”
“This funding that I worked to secure within our FSGG appropriations bill is another critical step in moving forward with the new headquarters in Greenbelt,” said Van Hollen, chairman of the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee, in a statement to Roll Call.
“We are ready to welcome the FBI to its new, consolidated headquarters in Maryland,” added Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. “The latest funding adds to the more than $1.5 billion already available for this important and urgent project,” he told Roll Call.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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