Former President Donald Trump does not support the idea of moving the new FBI headquarters to Alabama. During an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” he shared his thoughts on the reform of the FBI, stating his preference for the building to be located adjacent to the Department of Justice (DOJ)
Trump Pushes Back On Republicans Who Want To Take FBI HQ Out Of D.C. https://t.co/QKXA6i0CoW pic.twitter.com/24idjgjFnV
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) July 16, 2023
When Bartiromo asked Trump about some Republicans’ suggestion to move the FBI headquarters out of Washington and establish it in Alabama, he responded, “So, I had a plan to take down the FBI building and build a brand new building in Washington because I think that the FBI should be somewhat close to DOJ if they’re all honest people.”
“You know, I mean, they want to move it to a different state and ‘we’re going to move it to Virginia, build this, you know, thing.’ It was gonna cost, I mean, if you talk about environmentalists, the traffic was massive, etc, etc,” the former president said further.
When Bartiromo highlighted the FBI’s requested budget of nearly $4 billion for the new facility, which could potentially surpass the size of the Pentagon, Trump remarked, “They want it to be this monster building very far away.”
“I liked the idea of it being close to the Justice Department because they work together, to me, and they had the land and they had everything,” he added as he emphasized that renovating the existing FBI building or constructing a new one near the DOJ would be a more cost-effective and practical solution.
While he acknowledged that there might be some disruption during the construction phase, he believes that option would be more manageable.
The 2024 presidential candidate stressed his preference for having the FBI in proximity to the DOJ, as it would foster collaboration and convenience for both agencies.
“I think they have to be, you know, they work together, they could walk across the street. So every time you have to meet somebody in court or whatever you’re doing, they have to ride an hour and a half or two hours in traffic from a place in Virginia that’s very far away,” he stated.
Trump’s comments come after House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) proposed an additional provision to an appropriations bill with the aim of withdrawing funding for the FBI’s new headquarters unless it moves to Huntsville, Alabama.
According to proponents of the relocation idea, Huntsville is already a secondary headquarters for the watchdog as 20 to 30 of its divisions already have a presence there.
