Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it 70 Republicans voted with Democrats to push motion with new $300M FBI headquarters.
The funds for the new building, which will be relocated from Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest in Washington to Greenbelt, Maryland, were allocated in the $1.7 trillion fiscal 2023 omnibus spending bill.
On Wednesday, when the House was hearing amendments to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for 2024, Gaetz, a Florida Republican, pleaded his case for restricting funds for the new building after trying to block the construction of the headquarters in March.
FBI leadership are not convinced of the necessity of the new headquarters, preferring that the office remain in Washington, D.C. Among their reasons, according to The Washington Post, they like the proximity to the Department of Justice, located across the street, in addition to the high level visibility as a public symbol of law and order between the White House and the United States Capitol. In addition, each morning there are meetings between DOJ and FBI officials in a secure room at the agency directed by Merrick Garland.
However, the current FBI building is not the only thing that is “crumbling.” The rifts between Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives continue to widen. This was evident from the 70 conservative congressmen who approved the $300 million destined for the new FBI headquarters. Matt Gaetz was especially harsh in his speech before the vote and later on social media, accusing his party colleagues of rewarding an institution that persecutes citizens who disagree.
“We’re not always gonna hate the FBI,” he said. “I realize that there are people on my side of the aisle that don’t like some of the activities of the FBI. I’m not gonna pick an argument on that. But what I will argue is that it is bad policy for the Congress to be taking steps to deny a federal agency that is in serious need, in my opinion, of an improvement in their headquarters.”
Newsweek reached out to Gaetz and Womack via email for comment.
The amendment failed 273-145, with 70 GOP members voting against it.
Discover more from KossyDerrickent
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
