H.R. 1460 (119th)Bill Overview

Drain the Swamp Act of 2025

Government Operations and Politics|Congressional oversightDistrict of Columbia
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
Feb 21, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

The bill repeals 4 U.S.C. §72 and requires each executive agency (excluding the Executive Office of the President) to develop by September 30, 2026, and implement by September 30, 2030, a plan to relocate its headquarters outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Plans must identify a new location, maximize potential cost savings, limit to at most 10% the agency employees based in the Washington area after relocation, and consider national security implications.

Why people may split

Liberals stress civil service retention; conservatives stress decentralization benefits.

Watch point

Broad institutional change with significant local impacts and costs; may split coalitions despite political appeal.

The bill repeals 4 U.S.C. §72 and requires each executive agency (excluding the Executive Office of the President) to develop by September 30, 2026, and implement by September 30, 2030, a plan to relocate its headquarters outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Plans must identify a new location, maximize potential cost savings, limit to at most 10% the agency employees based in the Washington area after relocation, and consider national security implications.

The Director of OMB and the GSA Administrator must certify plan compliance before submission.

Passage20/100

Sweeping, costly mandate lacking funding and exemptions; high political and practical resistance makes enactment unlikely on content alone.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention55/100

Liberals stress civil service retention; conservatives stress decentralization benefits.

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens50% / 50%
Local governments · Federal agenciesFederal agencies

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • Potential benefitLower facility and operating costs from relocating headquarters to lower-cost regions.
  • Local governmentsCreation of jobs and local economic activity in selected non-metropolitan communities.
  • Federal agenciesBroader geographic distribution of federal jobs, enhancing regional resilience and talent pools.
Likely burdened
  • Federal agenciesLarge upfront relocation, severance, and infrastructure costs could increase federal expenditures.
  • Federal agenciesLoss of experienced staff unwilling to relocate may reduce agency effectiveness and institutional knowledge.
  • Federal agenciesHigher travel, communication, and coordination costs could slow interagency collaboration and decision-making.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Liberals stress civil service retention; conservatives stress decentralization benefits.
Progressive50%

Cautiously skeptical.

Supports decentralization and regional equity in principle but worries about civil service disruption, staff losses, and partisan motives.

Would want strong worker protections, continuity safeguards, and transparency around cost estimates.

Split reaction
Centrist50%

Pragmatic and measured.

Sees potential efficiency and democratic benefits from decentralization but wants rigorous cost-benefit analysis, national security exceptions, and protections for mission continuity before strong support.

Split reaction
Conservative80%

Generally favorable.

Views relocation as shrinking DC-centric bureaucracy, cutting costs, and returning jobs to states.

May press for faster implementation and strong enforcement of the 10% rule.

Leans supportive
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood20/100

Sweeping, costly mandate lacking funding and exemptions; high political and practical resistance makes enactment unlikely on content alone.

Scope and complexity
86%
Scopesweeping
52%
Complexitymedium
Why this could stall
  • No cost estimate or designated funding in the bill text
  • Ambiguity on enforcement or penalties for noncompliance
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Liberals stress civil service retention; conservatives stress decentralization benefits.

Sweeping, costly mandate lacking funding and exemptions; high political and practical resistance makes enactment unlikely on content alone.

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Drain the Swamp Act of 2025.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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