Trump Cabinet secretary to get swanky new setup as major agency moves headquarters out of D.C.
The Trump administration is moving one federal agency out of D.C. and displacing another – with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development set to score choice new digs in the progress.
Coming out on top in the situation is HUD Secretary Scott Turner, who is set to get an executive suite up on the 19th floor of his gleaming new headquarters when his current 2,700 employees make the move.
But the 1,800 National Science Foundation employees who currently occupy the building are in the dark about their own prospects, according to American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, which represents federal workers it says were blindsided by the move.
'While Secretary Turner and his staff are busy enjoying private dining and a custom gym, NSF employees are being displaced with no plan, no communication, and no respect,' the union fumed. It said the 'callous disregard for taxpayer dollars and NSF employees comes after the Administration already cut NSF's budget, staff and science grants and forced NSF employees back into the office.'
The furious union local, which says it got briefed on the plan when it was suddenly announced, lists perks it said Turner is set to garner in his new space. HUD currently occupies a brutalist 1960s building near the Southeast-Southwest freeway in downtown Washington with a long list of upkeep needs.
They include a 'dedicated executive suite' for the secretary, an executive dining room, reserved parking for five cars (presumably his security detail), plus 'exclusive use' of an elevator and a 'potential gym for the HUD Secretary and his family.'
Also blasting the move was Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science Committee.
She slammed the administration for 'kicking dedicated scientists out of their building so HUD Secretary Turner can have a penthouse dining suite' in a blistering statement.
'For an administration so obsessed with claiming that it's cutting spending, how can Trump justify the tax-payer dollars it will take to meet Turner's ridiculous demands, like a gym for his exclusive use or parking spaces for his five cars?' she said.
She also asked where the NSF staff would go and what was the plan. 'Once again, science loses, the American taxpayer loses, and our competitors, like China, win.'
A HUD press release features an image of the gleaming existing NSF building, which the agency occupied a few years ago.
'The move would unlock several hundred million dollars in taxpayer savings, address serious health and safety threats, enhance the Department's work culture, and present an opportunity for greater collaboration and service to the American people,' it says.
Turner talked up the move at a press conference with Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose state has competed with Maryland and DC over the years to serve as host to the NSF and other federal agencies. The NSF used to have offices in downtown DC before moving to Virginia after the Secret Service took over its prior office space.
'We will work with our friends at [the General Services Administration] to coordinate a staggered and thoughtful relocation process which takes into account the current team and employees of this building and the work they do on a daily basis,' Turner said. He added: 'We are all on the same team.'
He also blasted the claims about a posh setup as 'ridiculous and untrue.'
'This is about the posterity and the future of HUD, not just for now, but for those that are coming behind me. My family and I were already blessed before we came here...And so, this is about the HUD employees. This is not about me,' he said.
HUD spokeswoman Kasey Lovett told the Daily Mail that contrary to 'sensationalist reporting' no one would be 'displaced' and that there would be a 'staggered and thoughtful approach.'
'There will be a secretary office – just as there is at HUD currently – and every other place of operation with executive staff. There are no plans to "build out" anything more than what is currently there,' she said.
The spokeswoman said the move was done for staff safety and did not have 'anything to do with a new space or bells and whistles for the secretary,' although she did not deny that Turner would get the building features the union described.
The agency release makes no mention of what would happen to the NSF employees beyond the 'staggered employee relocation plan.'
It claims the move 'will save American taxpayers hundreds of millions in deferred maintenance and modernization needs.'
HUD's building showed up on a list of government buildings to be disposed of – although numerous buildings fell off the initial draft.
A GSA fact sheet now begins with the question: 'The first list was much longer, why is this list shorter?'
It responds: 'Due to the overwhelming response that we received after publishing the first list, we are refining our process.'
A federal judge has put a temporary pause on massive cuts to research funding that goes out to universities around the country.
Universities have sued over Trump administration changes to 'indirect' costs that get awarded to their scientists.
One plaintiff, the University of California system, estimates the change will cost it nearly $100 million a year.
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