Employees with the National Science Foundation are being kicked out of their new building in Northern Virginia, and the future is uncertain for the agency.
Back in 2017, the National Science Foundation moved into its sleek, new headquarters in Alexandria – just steps from the Eisenhower Metro stop. Now, only a few years later, the independent agency is being kicked out of its headquarters, and nobody knows where it'll move next.
"If you're a National Science Foundation employee, it's got to be very sad. But we want them to stay. We value them in our community," says Congressman Don Beyer. "Science is our future. If we don't invest in knowledge and wisdom, we're not going to have the bright future we want."
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins said she just found out that the National Science Foundation is being evicted from its new building Tuesday night, and she says she wants to work with the federal government to keep the agency in Alexandria.
"We value the relationship and the impact that NSF has had on our country and in our community, and we will do everything, whether that's offering other space or incentives, to ensure that we can keep NSF here," Gaskins says. "Especially its workers who many are Alexandria residents."
The Trump administration plans to move the Department of Housing and Urban Development from its 1968 Brutalist building in Washington to the vacated National Science Foundation headquarters in Alexandria. The future location of the National Science Foundation remains in doubt.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
