| Make a list of the protesters — a shortcut for a To Be Fired Immediately list. |
[Breitbart] Federal workers protested the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) move to the current National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters in Virginia on Tuesday, forcing the planned press conference by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and HUD Sec. Scott Turner to be moved into a secure room.
NSF employees, represented by the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, claimed that plans for HUD’s relocation to their Alexandria building involved “construction of an executive dining room” for Turner and “reserved parking spaces for the Secretary’s 5 cars.”
The union also claimed that a potential new gym is in the works for Turner “and his family” to use, and HUD’s imminent takeover of the building was concealed from them until earlier this week.
| They fail to comprehend the different roles of senior management and, well, them. |
Turner, who has repeatedly criticized his agency’s current headquarters inside the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington, DC, denied the claims that he advocated for the move to satisfy any personal desire for a more luxurious office.
However, before he, Youngkin, or the General Services Administration (GSA) could explain the decision or answer any questions, their press conference was crashed by angry NSF workers:
Dozens of employees poured into the east wing of the second floor to boo and chant, “NSF! NSF!” — prompting security personnel to usher the governor, secretary, GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Michael Peters, their respective staffers, and journalists into another room.
Once the press briefing could begin without interruption, Turner emphasized that HUD’s move is to prioritize the “health, safety and well being for [the] HUD workforce,” who he said are “working in unsafe conditions to this day.”
“I would hope that no leader in government or otherwise would expect staff to work every day in an atmosphere where the air quality is questionable, leaks are nearly unstoppable, and the HVAC is almost unworkable, just to name a few examples,” the secretary said, “in addition to the broken elevator banks that have been broken for years.”
The Weaver Building has had major repair issues for years, with a March Fox News report by Bret Baier showing the unfinished state of HUD’s longtime headquarters:
The building, which opened in 1968, currently faces over $500 million in deferred maintenance and modernization needs, and it costs taxpayers more than $56 million every year in rent and operations expenditures.
In addition, with every member of HUD staff at its headquarters, the Weaver Building only sits at half of its total occupancy.
In April, the GSA and HUD announced that the building had been moved to the accelerated disposition list. 
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