Skip to primary navigation Skip to content
Fired by President Trump? We want to hear from you.
Was your grant canceled by President Trump? We want to hear from you.
report a concern
July 09, 2025

Committee Leaders Lofgren and Stevens Demand Answers from GSA on HUD Takeover of NSF Headquarters

(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) and Research and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Haley Stevens (MI-11) sent a letter to Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian of the General Services Administration (GSA). In their letter, the Ranking Members demand answers from Ehikian on the decision process that led the GSA to greenlight the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) takeover of the National Science Foundation (NSF) building in Alexandria, VA. NSF has occupied the Alexandria building since 2017. 

“We write to you with great alarm after the June 25 press conference announcing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) takeover of the building currently occupied by the National Science Foundation (NSF),” the Members wrote in the letter. “At the press conference, HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Public Buildings Service Commissioner Michael Peters joyfully discussed the decision to move HUD into the building, bragging about how much of a victory this would be for HUD and for the Commonwealth of Virginia. At no point in the prepared remarks was it mentioned that the building has been home to NSF since 2017. Are the more than 1,800 NSF employees somehow less valuable to Virginia, somehow less worthy of a functional building? … This baffling decision demands answers on the process that has or has not been followed, the plans for NSF, and the jaw-dropping demands allegedly made by Secretary Turner regarding luxury accommodations for his personal use. The disrespect and disregard of NSF employees displayed at the June 25 press conference is a disheartening blow for an already demoralized workforce.”

The Members also emphasized how HUD’s takeover could have serious security implications and require tens of millions of dollars in upgrades:

“Not only is this plan wasteful and disrespectful, but it may flout security requirements put in place after September 11, 2001. According to documentation reviewed by the Committee, the building currently occupied by NSF does not meet the requirements of a Level III security posture. Upgrades to attain this level would have cost a minimum of $50 million, and it was determined that NSF is at a low risk of a terrorist attack or natural event. HUD, however, is a Cabinet-level agency; NSF is not.”

Access the letter here.