Maryland
Maryland won a tentative victory in the race for a new FBI headquarters, a potential economic boon for a majority Black county near DC
- In November, the GSA announced that Maryland had been picked to land the new FBI headquarters.
- Maryland lawmakers, including Gov. Wes Moore and Rep. Steny Hoyer, emphasized equity in their pitch.
- Some Virginia officials who have decried the selection process now want it reversed.
For over a decade, a bipartisan contingent of political leaders in Maryland and Virginia sought to land the new FBI headquarters.
The J. Edgar Hoover Building, a Brutalist complex near the White House that has housed the agency’s headquarters since 1975, became functionally obsolete years ago, with employees dispersed among different locations in the region. The current location, while centrally located, also has security vulnerabilities that a newer and more secure facility would rectify.
For years, the race to land the facility was intense. But federal officials last November selected a site in Greenbelt, Maryland, located in suburban Prince George’s County and adjacent to an existing Metro station — making it easily accessible to public transit.
The decision is a major win for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, but especially for Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer, the dean of the Maryland congressional delegation and a longtime champion of the project. Hoyer in a recent interview told me that he first discussed the move in 2009 with then-FBI director Robert Mueller.
“I went down to the building, I looked at it, took a tour through it, and he showed me how decrepit it was,” Hoyer said, noting that Mueller said the state of the building was undermining the agency’s effectiveness.
Hoyer, a former House majority leader who endorsed Moore’s campaign months before the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary, told Business Insider that the now-governor “immediately seized” on the FBI issue even before his eventual win in the primary.
“He digested and understood the importance of our competitive advantage and focused on achieving that objective,” Hoyer said. “And he recognized the importance of the FBI for Maryland and in particular for Prince George’s County.”
Prince George’s County, the majority-Black county directly to the east of Washington, DC, has for years had one of the most affluent Black populations of any jurisdiction in the country. But compared to Northern Virginia localities like Fairfax County, which has been an economic powerhouse for decades, Prince George’s County hasn’t enjoyed a similar level of economic development.
ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images
In that sense, the new building — which will consolidate and hold roughly 11,000 employees under one roof — is a game changer for Maryland.
“We have 4% of leased federal office space in Prince George’s County,” Hoyer told me, while also pointing out that the county is home to roughly 20% of the Washington region’s federal workers. “Fairfax County has 11% of the office space, almost three times as much as we have.”
Hoyer, like Moore, argued during the selection process that a Maryland site would be tied to equity, not only in terms of race but also regarding the level of federal investment.
“This project will be worth over $4 billion in economic activity and it’s going to solidify Maryland as the cyber capital of this country,” the governor told me in a recent interview. “The reason that we made it such a high priority is because this is going to be one of the most important federal buildings that has ever been built.”
Virginia leaders, who for years argued that a suburban site near the Marine Corps Base Quantico was a better fit for the headquarters, have criticized the selection — and now the General Service Administration will conduct an evaluation of the process.
In a November letter, a majority of Virginia’s congressional delegation asked that the decision to move the headquarters to the 61-acre Greenbelt site be reversed. And current FBI director Christopher Wray has expressed concerns about the selection process.
But a White House spokesperson in November defended the selection process as “fair and transparent.” And Maryland’s leaders remain confident.
“We’re absolutely convinced that everything was done properly,” Hoyer told me. “And I’ve been convinced from the very beginning that Greenbelt was by far the best site for all the reasons that the GSA ultimately found.”
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Maryland State Del. Nino Mangione was picked over the weekend to serve as the County Council’s newest member.
The move came Saturday, when the two-person Baltimore County Republican Central Committee held a public hearing and a vote at the Holiday Inn Timonium.
Mangione was one of seven candidates vying to fill the 3rd District seat left vacant in May by Councilman Wade Kach, who resigned due to health issues after serving on the County Council for more than 11 years.
Other candidates who competed for the 3rd District seat included Todd Huff, Lynne Jones, Tim Braue, Eric Rockel, Gerard Wittstadt, and E.J. McNulty.
Mangione was the only figure who simultaneously ran for a council seat in this year’s election bid. He is also running as a 5th District candidate, which includes most of the current 3rd District.
The county is operating under a new redistricting map that was approved for the 2026 election cycle last year. The map was passed in a 5-2 vote.
Baltimore County will hold its primary election on June 23.
MARYLAND (WBFF) — Starting Monday, June 1st, marks the first day mail-in ballots across the state will be canvassed for the 2026 primary elections, as local boards of election officials can begin the process of opening, reviewing, and counting the mail-in ballots already received.
Just last week, the Maryland State Board of Elections began sending out replacement mail-in ballots after an error assigned hundreds of thousands of residents to the wrong political party.
ALSO READ | Maryland State Board of Elections starts sending out corrected mail-in ballots after error
The Board of Elections has pointed the finger at its vendor, Taylor Print and Visual Impressions, Inc., for this error, but members of Congress and political analysts say more answers are needed on how this happened.
“A mail-in ballot error like this only leads to people getting into more conspiracy theories, election rigging, back to the 2020 talk all over again,” said Political analyst John Dedie.
Just a few days ago, FOX News Digital posted an interview with Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor, asking for a response to President Donald Trump’s calls for the Department of Justice to investigate the state’s mail-in ballots.
ALSO READ | Maryland Freedom Caucus calls mail-in ballot error a crisis, urges federal audit of rolls
“The administration is a separate body from the board of elections,” said Maryland Lt. Governor Aruna Miller. “It happens, sometimes Ballots get mailed the wrong way. It happens almost in every election. So we’ll see what the investigation shows…I don’t think it was in malice, in any bad way that this happened. I think it was just error by the vendor.”
Meanwhile, at the latest Maryland State Board of Elections meeting, Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis answered questions from board members if an outer investigation will take place following the election.
“We always do a lessons learned after every election,” said DeMarinis. “And this will be a part of our lessons learned, and we will, of course, be working with you know and getting more you know information about how to prevent this in the future, with it.”
DeMarinis adding…”we’ve been open and transparent about it. I don’t necessarily know what more of an investigation would shed light on.”
According to the Board, more than 500,000 voters requested mail-in ballots.
Without being able to identify who received the wrong party ballot, the board says all mail-in voters were sent replacements.
The Board is urging all voters to vote with the replacement ballot, adding safe guards are in place to ensure voting will not happen.
Since this error, a Congressional committee has reached out to the Board requesting a response by June 9th.
ALSO READ | Congressional committee members want answers about Maryland’s mail-in ballot mistake
FOX45 spoke with Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith of Virginia. Griffith said, “We will be keeping an eye on it because we have concerns we want to make sure that the federal elections, state folks can do whatever in the state or local elections, but in the federal elections it’s our job to make sure that voters are getting an opportunity to vote that they’re not being disenfranchised by some accident or intentional act.”
Political analysts also tell FOX45 that more answers are needed to ensure voter confidence.
“There needs to be more answers and possibly a hearing on this,” said Dedie. “Not wait till next year when they’re back in Annapolis after the election.
For now, anyone who has questions on this error and the next steps, the Board is urging you to contact them or go to their website.
Happy Sunday, Maryland!
Another beautiful day is in store on this Sunday – and it doesn’t end there as we start June on Monday.
Sunshine continues Sunday
High pressure is in control today, keeping our weather pattern quiet for another day. A northerly wind to start the day will keep temperatures just shy of seasonal norms this afternoon. However, after the cooler start to the day, we will end up warmer than Saturday.
High temperatures warm into the mid-70s to low 80s. Today will be less breezy, as well.
Early June outlook
Tonight, a system will start moving through, producing an isolated shower or two overnight as temperatures cool into the 50s.
Another low-end shower chance comes on Monday with a few isolated showers possible however, most spots stay dry to start June.
While Tuesday’s rain chance is slightly higher, it won’t be by much. Spotty showers move through during the afternoon. Rain appears to be light during all three rain chances tonight, Monday and on Tuesday.
Overall, we stay pretty quiet throughout the week with more sunshine than clouds. High temperatures this week range from the mid-70s to low 80s through Thursday.
Low humidity continues into at least the end of the week.
Temperatures and rain potential head up by the weekend. We’re still a few days out so stay with the WJZ First Alert Weather team for the lates updates.
-
Arkansas16 seconds ago
Hogs’ Season Ends in NCAA Lawrence Regional
-
California5 minutes agoAP Decision Notes: What to expect in California’s state primary
-
Colorado13 minutes agoColorado elections clerk Tina Peters released from prison after governor commutes sentence
-
Connecticut15 minutes agoSouth Carolina man found cutting down light poles in Rocky Hill, police say
-
Delaware20 minutes agoOver 1,000 pets will be looking for homes at mega adoption event in Delaware
-
Florida27 minutes agoMan in Florida jailed after reported attempted kidnapping at church
-
Georgia31 minutes agoGeorgia man arrested after confessing to 1989 New Jersey cold case murder, authorities say
-
Hawaii35 minutes agoThe Hawaii Airport Check First-Time Visitors Never See Coming
