The director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, has expressed concerns about a potential conflict of interest in the Biden administration’s selection process for a new headquarters location. In an internal email obtained by the Associated Press, Wray stated that Congress may review the matter, adding another layer to the already contentious competition between jurisdictions in the national capital region vying for the FBI’s new home.
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced on Wednesday that it had chosen Greenbelt, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., as the site for the new FBI facility. The decision came after considering factors such as cost and access to public transportation. However, Wray’s objections were not about the chosen location itself but rather the process used to make the selection.
Wray pointed out in his email that a GSA executive had overruled a board’s unanimous decision in favor of Springfield, Virginia, and instead selected land owned by a former employer. He expressed concern that outside information had been inserted into the process, seemingly favoring Greenbelt, and that the justifications for deviating from the panel’s decision were inconsistent.
The GSA has not yet responded to Wray’s concerns. Officials in Virginia, which houses the FBI Academy, have criticized the government’s decision, as the state had been competing with Maryland to become the FBI’s new headquarters. Last year, Congress directed the administration to consider three potential sites: Greenbelt and Landover in Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia.
Wray emphasized that the FBI’s objections were focused on the process, rather than the chosen site itself. He noted that the land in Greenbelt is owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where the senior GSA executive had previously been employed.
Despite engaging with the GSA for the past two months to address these issues, Wray stated that the FBI’s concerns about the process remain unresolved. Maryland’s elected leaders released a joint statement affirming that their efforts to bring the FBI headquarters to their state were not politically motivated, but rather driven by a longstanding need.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia accused there being “gross political interference in an established GSA process.” The matter may now face congressional review as concerns over a potential conflict of interest in the selection process continue to loom.
