House GOP floats blocking FBI’s new HQ
“The whole discussion about a new headquarters should be put off to another time and place,” said Rep. Michael Cloud.
By Jordain Carney
05/25/2023 04:25 PM EDT
House Republicans have privately discussed blocking a new FBI headquarters by hitting the project’s funding — a potential escalation in the party’s increasingly antagonistic relationship with the bureau.
It’s far from clear that such a move would unite House Republicans, much less pass muster with the Senate or White House. But as Republicans increasingly view the FBI with suspicion over investigations into Donald Trump and other political issues — and look for ways to cut spending — the party’s appropriators are under pressure to use spending bills to place new limits on the bureau, with the new headquarters being an early target.
Three Republicans tasked with writing the funding bills acknowledged it has come up in conversations, though they stressed that talks were still in early stages. GOP members are also well aware it could put them in the middle of a heated FBI HQ standoff between Maryland and Virginia, the contenders for the location of the new building that was an 11th-hour hold up to a mammoth funding deal just months ago.
“The FBI right now has some serious, serious issues that need to be addressed. … The whole discussion about a new headquarters should be put off to another time and place,” said Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), a member of the Appropriations Committee, characterizing himself as “very much” interested in using the government funding bills to block a new headquarters.
more
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/25/house-gop-fbi-funding-hq-00098863
