Trump wants the new fbi hq to be in DC, Dems are having a fit about it being in Md

Must be some payback to Van Hollen

Not sure I understand why it’s important to them that it be in Maryland







Politico


Funding bill in limbo amid FBI headquarters uproar
Senate appropriators are scrambling to figure out whether they can salvage the Commerce-Justice-Science bill.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) speaks with reporters as she boards an elevator at the U.S. Capitol July 8, 2025. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)
"I think it’s better we withdraw the bill for now than watch this bill go down," Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins said Thursday. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

By DAVID LIM, CASSANDRA DUMAY and CALEN RAZOR
07/10/2025 02:24 PM EDT


Updated: 07/10/2025 02:55 PM EDT
Senators scrambled Thursday to avoid an impasse that is threatening to scuttle one of the 12 annual funding bills and cast a pall over the whole bipartisan appropriations process.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) put the panel into an unusual extended recess amid negotiations over resolving the dispute, which is rooted in President Donald Trump’s decision to override a congressionally approved plan to move FBI headquarters to suburban Maryland and instead keep the agency in downtown Washington.


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Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, introduced an amendment to the fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science funding bill barring the Trump administration from using headquarters funding for anything other than the original plan. It was adopted after GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska crossed party lines to support it.
The prospect that the bill might countermand a Trump administration priority subsequently caused several GOP senators to withdraw their support for the underlying bill. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who chairs the subcommittee overseeing the bill, said it was “none of our committee’s business” where the FBI headquarters goes: “We don’t get to choose sites, and it’s certainly not the committee’s jurisdiction of Commerce, Justice and Science.”
Attempts at pursuing compromise language on the FBI headquarters matter failed, prompting Collins to call what she said would be a “very long recess.” The panel is not expected to reconvene before next week.
“I think it’s better we withdraw the bill for now than watch this bill go down,” she said.
The blowup exasperated some Democrats on the panel, who questioned why the Republican majority could not accept Van Hollen’s provision. “Because there was a bipartisan amendment adopted we’re going to tank this bill?” asked Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz.
Others expressed confidence the issue would ultimately get settled.
“I honestly think we’ll be able to resolve it,” said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the panel’s top Democrat. “We’ve always been able to work out issues.”