A competition to attract federal agencies is unfolding among U.S. state governments. This is because the deadline for the agencies to submit plans to relocate from high-rent Washington D.C. to other areas, as part of a restructuring by the Donald Trump administration, is approaching.
On the 13th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) reported, “State government officials across the nation see the Trump administration’s push to transfer federal agencies and offices out of the Washington D.C. area as an opportunity, and consequently, the state governments are competing to attract federal agencies.”
Earlier, in February, the Trump administration demanded that federal agencies located in and around Washington D.C. submit plans to transfer their offices to lower-cost areas by the 14th. This is an order that arose as part of the federal government restructuring initiated by the Department of Efficiency (DOGE).
The agency facing the fiercest competition for relocation is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), headquartered in the southwest of Washington D.C. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, sent a letter to President Trump urging the transfer of NASA to Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland is home to NASA’s Glenn Research Center, one of its major research facilities.
Governor DeWine claimed that Ohio is “the birthplace of aviation and a much more economical area for NASA operations than Washington D.C.” Additionally, two Ohio state lawmakers sent related letters to President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Jared Isaacman, who has been nominated to lead NASA.
Florida has also entered the competition to attract NASA. Florida’s Republican Senator Rick Scott and Ashley Moody proposed a bill to transfer NASA to Florida’s space industry hub, “Space Coast.” This area is home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Republican Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz from Texas proposed a bill not only to transfer NASA’s headquarters but also to relocate the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center museum in Virginia to Houston, Texas.
In addition to NASA, the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD) are also considered major targets for relocation. These agencies are based in properties listed in the possible sale list of 443 real estate properties publicly disclosed last month by the General Services Administration (GSA).
According to WP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to dismantle its offices in Washington D.C. and relocate staff across the country. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “I want to keep staff closer to farmers, ranchers, foresters, and consumers.”
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said its Secretary Scott Turner revealed the relocation plan, stating, “Our headquarters building is the ugliest building in Washington D.C.” According to Bloomberg News, HUD is considering relocation to Houston, Missouri, Ohio, and other areas.
J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio, an agency responsible for attracting investment, noted, “We want to attract HUD or the Department of Agriculture,” adding, “Any department, including NASA, the Department of Agriculture, and HUD, would fit well in our region.”
However, the Trump administration’s efforts to transfer federal agencies are expected to be challenging. WP reported that during his first term, Trump tried to implement plans to transfer some federal agencies out of Washington D.C., but after relocating the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado, 87% of the target employees retired or left.