Marking a significant step in President Donald Trump’s commitment to draining the D.C. swamp, the FBI is going ahead with a plan to move its prestigious National Academy from Virginia.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is leading this bold relocation initiative, which aims to redistribute federal law enforcement resources away from the Washington beltway.
The proposed move would transfer the National Academy about 660 miles south to Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal, which already hosts several FBI operations.
The National Academy provides a 10-week training program for global law enforcement leaders.
It has operated at Quantico since the 1970s, graduating about 1,000 law enforcement professionals annually through four sessions per year.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Bongino have personally visited the Huntsville facility, described as the FBI’s “innovation center,” to evaluate its capabilities.
Their hands-on approach signals the administration’s commitment to restructuring federal agencies away from the D.C. power center, a core promise of President Trump’s second term.
The FBI stated that “any relocation options are being evaluated for budgetary reasons and to save money, while taking advantage of the best facilities available.”
Alabama’s Republican senators have enthusiastically welcomed the potential move.
Senator Tommy Tuberville called it “GREAT NEWS” for the state, while Senator Katie Britt praised the decision as “fantastic, commonsense leadership.”
“It’s [going to] be a big move, it’s a no brainer. I was at Redstone [Arsenal] just recently with Kash Patel and Senator [Katie] Britt. It’s been great getting to know him[Patel] and Dan Bongino over the last several years,” Tuberville stated.
“And now that they’re implementing their programs, it’s obvious after Kash Patel came here and saw what we have here, he’s making even more adjustments to people here in Washington D.C. moving them to other places, most of which are Huntsville,” he added.
The Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville already hosts the FBI’s Hazardous Devices School and is considered a “crown jewel” of advanced training.
This established presence makes the location a natural fit for expanding FBI operations away from the Capital region.
The move aligns with President Trump’s broader strategy of decentralizing government agencies that have long been concentrated in and around Washington, D.C.
The president previously canceled plans for a new FBI Headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Patel has acknowledged ongoing plans to move the FBI headquarters out of Washington.
While other programs at the Quantico campus are expected to remain for now, some D.C.-area politicians are fighting to keep federal resources and jobs in their region.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin claimed that Quantico “remains the best place to train America’s FBI.”
Some FBI insiders have expressed confusion about the relocation, citing recent renovations at the Virginia facility.
No timeline for the Academy’s relocation has been announced, but the momentum appears strong as Patel and Bongino continue implementing their vision for a reformed FBI less influenced by D.C.
