Prince George’s County residents hopeful for FBI headquarters in Greenbelt despite Trump’s stance

GREENBELT, Md. ( DC News Now ) — Residents in Prince George's County were closely watching President-elect Donald Trump's return to D.C. this week to visit President Joe Biden and the White House.

The government moving the FBI Headquarters to Greenbelt last year but Trump said this week that he wants the keep the headquarters in D.C.

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DC News Now spoke with some Greenbelt residents Wednesday night to get their thoughts on the brewing controversy.

"I think D.C. has enough things going on already and we need something out here in Greenbelt, especially in Prince George's County and I am from Virginia originally and Virginia doesn't need it and they have plenty there so it needs to be here in PG County," County resident Charles Zanders said.

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) supports the FBI headquarters moving to Greenbelt and told DC News Now that it would help the local economy.

"It's a multi-million dollar project and I think it will be good for jobs and construction and the building trades and having the FBI agents working there I think is going to be helpful to the economy," Ivey said. "For the other satellite businesses that might pop up and I think it's a good symbol to have the FBI headquarters in Prince George's County."

The FBI noted that it was outgrowing the D.C. building and Greenbelt was selected over Landover and Springfield in Virginia.

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Zanders said it was time to see some good things come to his city.

"More opportunities for people and jobs and new businesses to come here. I just want to see opportunity and growth for Greenbelt and that would be very helpful to see it grow," he said.

While Trump was president, he tried to block the headquarters move.

In a recent post on social media, he argued that having the FBI headquarters in D.C. would help prevent crime.

Conservatives have been critical of the bipartisan funding deal to pay for the new headquarters because it would put $200 million toward construction.