Acting NASA admin says future HQ location is not priority

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier this year, members of Florida’s congressional delegation made a big push advocating to relocate NASA’s headquarters from Washington, D.C. to the Sunshine State. But, for now, the current head of the space agency says he has ‘more important issues’ to deal with than think about any potential move. 

Back in March, a bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers introduced legislation in both the House and Senate called the CAPE Canaveral Act to transfer the headquarters of NASA to Brevard County.

Proponents say the move would be a big boon for the Sunshine State. About 2,500 employees are based out of the space agency’s D.C. headquarters, but the current lease is ending in 2028. And Florida isn’t the only state vying for it.

“So, a lot of considerations, right? Texas wants it. Florida wants it. You know, a lot of people make the argument that it should stay in Washington, D.C.,” acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy told Spectrum News in an interview last week.

President Donald Trump selected Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to be NASA’s acting administrator in July after pulling the nomination of billionaire commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman. But as Duffy juggles leading multiple agencies, he says examining the future location for NASA’s headquarters isn’t a priority right now.

“I’m in a place, though, where we’re in a race to get to the moon before the Chinese, and all effort has been to make that happen. So, I haven’t put one iota of mind space yet into where the headquarters should go, because I have other way more important issues that I’m navigating at NASA,” Duffy said.

While the prospect of moving NASA’s headquarters anytime soon seems to have fizzled, some other agencies are actively being moved out of D.C., or considering moves. In June, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced plans to move its headquarters to Alexandria, Virginia.