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OPINION – Congress is weighing a decision with critical National Security implications for generations to come: where to locate the next FBI headquarters? The current headquarters, the Hoover Building, is long past its sell-by date, and there is general agreement it needs to be replaced.
The new headquarters, wherever it is located, must deal with a fundamental threat. It will inevitably be a high-priority target for terrorists, spies, and cyber criminals. That means the single most important consideration must be the safety of the men and women who work there; secondarily, the security of highly sensitive investigative and national security data held inside; lastly, the security of adjacencies – both human and physical. That kind of security requires more than a strong building. It requires a safe location to meet current and evolving threats.
Unfortunately, the frontrunner for the new headquarters fails those crucial considerations. We can do better–much better–than refurbishing the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The vulnerabilities have been known for over two decades.
The April 19, 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City prompted new security measures for federal office buildings. Independent security consultants warned that the Reagan Building’s sprawling 11-Acre complex, mixed-use design, convention space, vast underground parking garage left it vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks confirmed that the FBI needed a new headquarters complex – one that satisfied Interagency Security Committee (ISC) Level V protocols – the highest security standards for nonmilitary federal facilities.
A retrofit of the 30-year-old Reagan Building will fail to meet the physical and cybersecurity requirements of Level V.
The Reagan Building is a quasi-public building in the heart of downtown Washington, DC, designed as a center for international events and public use. Its architecture is antithetical to Level V due to features such as a one-acre glass atrium roof, famed sky lights, and open access to surrounding buildings and Metro.
The urban density of the Reagan Building surroundings creates permanent vulnerabilities that will never satisfy Level V Security. The Reagan Building is in the DC core, which exacerbates security risks to itself and adjacent federal and civilian activity: the District’s Wilson Building, Department of Commerce, Willard Hotel, Freedom Plaza, 14th Street artery and in closer proximity to the White House. No amount of retrofitting will change these physical adjacencies.
Nearby high-rise buildings provide clear vantage points for hostile actors. The required standoff distances from blast threats can never be met. Nor can the Reagan Building adequately be shielded from line-of-sight surveillance, infrared detection, or electronic signal collection. And, the one acre of glass in the atrium skylight provides an easy drone threat.
A pedestrian tunnel under 14th Street, a popular food court, Metro access, and public garage connectivity undermine perimeter control, as well. Additionally, the Reagan Building cannot provide the square footage for the redundant power infrastructure mandated for a national security headquarters, including a separate utility plant and multiple independent grid connections. Moving FBI here shows a grave disregard for the safety and security of federal personnel, citizens, and national intelligence.
The Real Tab: GSA’s FY 2026 prospectus estimates roughly $1.4 billion for design, construction, and FBI fit-out, but omit the costs of: temporary housing during construction, maintaining Level V-compliant interim facilities, and the likelihood of future leased space if full consolidation proves impossible within the fixed footprint of the Reagan Building. Outdated estimates and assumptions do not reflect the complexity of Level V security or the rapid evolution of cyber and surveillance threats.
The Time to Act is Now: Congress needs to remove the Reagan Building from consideration and insist on a purpose-built solution. The FBI needs a campus-style headquarters with adequate standoff distance, full perimeter control, redundant power and communications, and infrastructure flexible to adapt to evolving threats. Over 23 years ago, a bipartisan report was issued, using the attacks on the Murrah Building and World Trade Center as background, as well as GAO, DOJ/OIG, and Independent Security reports with similar conclusions. But nothing has happened.
Since our first article appeared in The Hill, Frank Keating, Oklahoma Governor at time of the Murrah Building Bombing, responded to us with, “The Murrah tragedy was a wake-up call. Now, thirty years later it doesn’t look like any lessons were learned.” A former Ambassador shared, “The State Department’s post Benghazi worldwide building requirements are very unfriendly to retrofitting buildings for occupation by State personnel whether or not a SCIF is involved. The Bureau will be the target like the Marines in Beirut.”
If lawmakers want to ensure the FBI remains the world’s premier law enforcement and counterterrorism organization, they should demand a headquarters that is purposefully built from a national security perspective, not a retrofit of a building never intended to be a secured facility. Let’s, finally, do this right
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