Virginia leaders respond to reports of possible FBI academy move from Quantico

Virginia’s Democratic leaders were quick to protest Wednesday to a report that the FBI’s leaders are proposing a plan to move the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy from Quantico to Huntsville, Alabama.

The Washington Post broke the story Wednesday afternoon about the 10-week training program for local, federal and international law enforcement officials that’s held on the FBI’s campus in Prince William County.

Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the state’s Democratic nominee for governor, promptly responded with a call rallying all of Virginia’s leaders to stand united against an effort to move the academy from Quantico, which is located about 36 miles from Washington, D.C.

“As a former federal law enforcement officer and CIA case officer, I worked alongside FBI agents to keep our country safe,” she said in a statement. “I know the pride they take in serving their country and training America’s law enforcement officers. And as a former member of Congress who represented Quantico, I know the impact this will have on the community.”

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, hosted FBI Director Kash Patel along with her fellow Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, another Republican, for a tour of the FBI’s facilities in Huntsville in April. According to The Washington Post, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is leading the effort to move the academy.

Although it takes place at the same location as the FBI Academy for new FBI agents, famously depicted in “The Silence of the Lambs” and other movies and TV shows, the FBI National Academy is a different program held four times a year for law enforcement officers from local jurisdictions across the country, as well as police from 176 countries, according to the FBI.

More than 56,000 officers have graduated from the 10-week program. They receive training on behavioral science, forensics, communications, terrorism and intelligence theory, among other areas.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia’s junior Democratic senator, reminded the White House on Wednesday that Congress controls the power of the purse.

“This is part of a larger effort by the administration to dramatically politicize, reduce and relocate the federal workforce,” Kaine said in a statement. “If Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino want to move the FBI Academy, then they will have to explain to Congress and the American public why this is needed and how much it will cost.”

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, added that he expects members of Congress to be skeptical of the plan.

“Quantico is co-located with other critical FBI and national security assets, and before we spend taxpayer dollars on a disruptive and potentially unnecessary move, the Bureau owes Congress and the American people a clear justification for this plan,” he said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman, a Democrat who represents part of Prince William County and succeeded Spanberger in January, stressed that the proposal raises important questions that Congress will have to answer.

“Virginia’s Seventh District is home to Quantico’s state-of-the-art facility and remains the best place for local and state law enforcement to learn from our incredible agents at the FBI,” he said in a statement. “As a former prosecutor, I know that the most efficient and impactful way for law enforcement to continue keeping our communities safe is to train at the world-class facilities that have already been built by taxpayers at Quantico.”

In a statement provided Wednesday evening, Gov. Glenn Youngkin called Quantico “the best place to train America’s FBI.” “I am speaking with leadership at the FBI and [the U.S. Department of Justice] to make sure Quantico remains the centerpiece of FBI training now and in the future,” he added.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who’s running as Virginia’s Republican candidate for governor, did not immediately responded to a request for comment.

Founded in 1972 in Prince William County, the FBI’s Quantico complex occupies 547 acres on the U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico. New FBI agents are trained at the facility, along with Drug Enforcement Administration agents, local and state law enforcement officers and members of elite units like SWAT teams and hostage-rescue teams.

Along with classrooms and firing ranges, Quantico includes an aquatic training center for diving practice and a mock town where agents prepare for real-life dangerous situations.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.