Agency official announces closure of Hoover Building and relocation to Ronald Reagan Building

An agency official announced that the Hoover Building will be shut down and the agency will relocate to the Ronald Reagan Building, saying the relocation process has already begun and that security upgrades are needed before staff move in.

The official said, “We are shutting down the Hoover Building. We're moving into the Reagan Building,” and added there may be “a sale of the cement structures that are falling off of Hoover for charity.” The official also said the move would save taxpayers about $5,000,000,000 and contrasted that with a previously discussed option that they said would have cost about $4,800,000,000 in 2036.

A meeting participant responded with surprise and criticized the Hoover Building’s appearance, calling it “one of the most hideous brutalist buildings in all of Washington, a scar on the face of DC.” The participant asked when the shutdown would occur and whether the agency would use empty USAID offices in the Reagan Building; the agency official said the whole Ronald Reagan Building “will be the new FBI building.”

The official said some security work and upgrades are required at the Reagan Building before staff relocate but did not provide a schedule or formal approval process in the transcript. The announcement was delivered as an exchange; the transcript records no formal motion, vote, or timetable for the closure and relocation.

The exchange also included informal comments — including a suggestion to sell falling masonry for charity and a participant’s joke about taking a cement block — but did not document a formal disposal plan for federal property or an authorization vote. Next procedural steps, responsible decision-makers, and any required interagency approvals were not specified in the transcript.