A report released on Feb. 12 dealt a fatal blow to Prince George’s County’s hopes of getting the new FBI headquarters.
The decision is a loss for Maryland since the new headquarters would’ve brought 11,000 new jobs to the state.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation will remain in Washington, D.C. after two out of the three bids for the headquarters location were in Prince George’s County.
Democrats in Maryland are disappointed at the news since members of the congressional delegation have been working for years to bring the headquarters to Prince George’s County.
Prince George’s County Executive, Rushern L. Baker III, and his administration were working on potential locations for the new FBI headquarters in Prince George’s County. Greenbelt Metro Station and the former Landover Mall site were two of the three finalists locations considered.
“After years of analysis, proposals, briefings and an estimated $65 million dollars spent, the news that GSA is recommending that the FBI headquarters remain in its current location is extremely frustrating,” Baker said in a statement. “The concept of a consolidated FBI that would house 11,000 employees was well thought out and supported by both the Bush and Obama administrations.”
“Not only have resources and money been wasted, but more importantly, we are no closer to providing the American people the increased security and safety they desperately need from a consolidated and high security campus,” Baker added.
Baker said he will continue to work with the congressional delegation to see what can be done moving forward about the project.
Maryland Democratic Party chair, Kathleen Matthews said the congressional delegation will continue to do their part to help deliver the project to Maryland, but she mentioned that the delegation cannot do it alone.
“Why wasn’t Governor Hogan able to leverage his relationship with his Republican allies in Congress and in the Trump administration to bring 11,000 jobs to Maryland?,” Matthews stated in a Maryland Democratic Party press release. “It’s becoming abundantly clear that Hogan is a subpar dealmaker who can’t get the job done when faced with competition.”
Last month, Hogan became the first Maryland governor in decades to lose a Fortune 500 company to another state, resulting in Discovery moving from Silver Spring to New York in 2019. Facebook, Nestle, and Boeing also chose to invest in Virginia instead of Maryland, according to the Maryland Democratic Party press release.