The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will reportedly take over the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters building (2415 Eisenhower Ave.), displacing more than 1,833 NSF employees who currently work there.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin reportedly plan to announce the takeover Wednesday (June 25), according to information provided to journalist Dan Garisto by multiple NSF staff members. The transition will occur over the next two years.
“There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move,” an NSF staffer tells Garisto.
The American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, which represents NSF workers, confirms the takeover in an official statement released Tuesday. The union says it received notice Tuesday afternoon about the planned announcement.
Turner has made specific requests for accommodations in the building, which was completed in 2017, according to NSF staff. These include a dedicated executive suite on the 19th floor, construction of an executive dining room, and reserved parking spaces for his five cars.
The HUD Secretary also requests exclusive use of one elevator and space on the 18th floor to host his executive assistants. Plans potentially include a gym for Turner and his family.
“Neither NSF management nor OSTP have been involved, and the decision was instead driven by the HUD Secretary, Scott Turner, who will be imminently taking over the 18th & 19th floors of the (soon-to-be-former?) NSF building,” Garisto reports.
AFGE Local 3403 has not received detailed briefings about the relocation plan. The union expresses concern about the lack of communication and planning for displaced employees.
“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 states.
The union criticizes the timing of the takeover, noting it comes after the administration cut NSF’s budget, staff, and science grants while forcing employees back into office work.
“This 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,” according to the union statement.
The displacement affects a significant portion of NSF’s workforce. The union initially reported 1,833 employees working in the headquarters building, later issuing a small correction to confirm this number.
AFGE Local 3403 characterizes the situation as government waste, contrasting claims of cutting spending with funding for what they describe as palace-like accommodations.
“At a time when they claim to be cutting government waste, it is unbelievable that government funding is being redirected to build a palace-like office for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,” the union states.
The union calls the approach hypocritical, describing it as a “let-them-eat-cake approach to government” that is “truly dumbfounding.”
Garisto, who first reported the news on the social media platform Bluesky, clarifies his sourcing after questions arise about the credibility of the information.
The takeover represents a significant disruption for the National Science Foundation, which funds scientific research across the United States. The agency’s employees have already experienced recent changes, including budget cuts and mandatory return-to-office policies.
An NSF employee, who wrote to ALXnow on the condition of anonymity, provided the following additional background on Tuesday night, attributing it to “NSF staff.”
I will note that just yesterday OSTP Director Kratsios participated in a massive press conference announcing the first images from the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Telescope, — a state-of-the-art facility that will provide hi-res movies of the night sky enabling identification of asteroids with potential for collision with Earth, enhance understanding of dark matter, and open up a wealth of opportunity for discovery about our universe — which has already cost $541 million in tax-payer dollars and will require ongoing operations and maintenance funds over its lifespan. That is, of course, if NSF continues to exist. If the displacement results in or is the result of plans to dismantle the agency, that $541 million is sunk cost in a decaying telescope.
Any disruption in NSF operations as a result of this seemingly imminent takeover will impact the millions of dollars granted to universities, business, and non-profits across the country (including in rural areas) that to date have supported countless Nobel Prize winners and innovations like PCR, CRISPR, MRI, Google, the internet, 3D printing, GIS technology, kidney exchanges, educational efforts like The Magic Schoolbus and NOVA, the first images of black holes, detection of gravitational waves, the database that was used to train the Nobel Prize-winning Alphafold, advanced agriculture and from resilience, and management of the U.S. Antarctic Program that is both a key science endeavor and critical geopolitically.
Additionally, NSF employees when asking about the presence of HUD leadership at NSF HQ at least three times recently have continually been assured that no takeover would be occurring. That is until this afternoon.
The specific timeline for the two-year transition remains unclear, as does the process for relocating NSF operations and staff. The union indicates it has not received detailed information about how the displacement will be managed.
Turner’s requests for building modifications suggest extensive renovations may be planned for the upper floors of the NSF headquarters. The construction of an executive dining room and a potential gym would require significant alterations to the existing space.
The involvement of Virginia Governor Youngkin in tomorrow’s announcement indicates state-level coordination in the federal building takeover. The governor’s role in the process has not been detailed in the available information.
ALXnow’s Coverage of the NSF Headquarters Relocation
- June 27: EXCLUSIVE: Warner, Kaine, Beyer demand answers on NSF’s forced exit from Alexandria headquarters
- June 26: Senator Warner demands cost analysis for HUD move to Alexandria, raises concerns about NSF displacement
- June 25: HUD announces relocation to National Science Foundation building in Alexandria
- June 24: Report: National Science Foundation headquarters to be taken over by HUD, displacing 1,800+ employees
