Moving Agency Headquarters Out of Washington

Moving agency headquarters out of Washington has long been proposed to spread federal jobs, cut costs, and bring officials closer to the people they serve. In 2019 the Agriculture Department moved its Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City, and in 2020 the Bureau of Land Management moved its headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado. In both cases most affected employees chose to leave government rather than move, and the BLM headquarters returned to Washington in 2021.

In July 2025 the Agriculture Department announced it would move most of its roughly 4,600 Washington-area employees to five hubs in Raleigh, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Fort Collins, and Salt Lake City and close some buildings in the capital region. On September 2, 2025, the President announced that U.S. Space Command would move its headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama, and the first staff moved into a building there in 2026. The FBI chose the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington over a planned new campus in Maryland, drawing a lawsuit.

Supporters say relocations save on Washington rents, help recruit in lower-cost areas, and reduce the concentration of power in the capital. Critics say forced moves drive out experienced experts, as happened in 2019 and 2020, and that decisions are sometimes driven by politics, such as rewarding friendly states. Studies by the Government Accountability Office have found that relocation decisions often lack clear analysis of costs and effects on the mission.