San Francisco’s main federal office building, named after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, may be closed due to rampant crime in the city.
This comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in August warned workers to avoid the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building “for the foreseeable future” over safety concerns, including rampant drug dealing outside the facility.
“In light of the conditions at the (Federal Building) we recommend employees … maximize the use of telework for the foreseeable future,” HHS Assistant Secretary for Administration Cheryl Campbell wrote in a memo at the time.
On Wednesday, Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Erst suggested that the building’s staff should instead relocate to other government facilities in the Bay Area where they won’t be “fearing for their lives.”
“Working at a Department of Health and Human Services building shouldn’t be a risk to your health or life, but it is now due to former Speaker Pelosi and the other liberal politicians that have allowed criminal chaos to overtake the streets of San Francisco,” Ernst said in a statement.
“If it’s not safe for federal employees to work here, it certainly can’t be safe for businesses to operate and families to live here,” she added. “I’m calling to shut down the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building. After all, they’ve already been forced to abandon it, so why should taxpayers keep the lights on in Nancy Pelosi’s haunted house?”
Pelosi has also raised concerns for the safety of her staffers who have to enter the building but has not yet recommended a work-from-home setup for her five-person team.
“The safety of workers in our federal buildings has always been a priority for Speaker Emerita Pelosi, whether in the building or on their commutes,” said Pelosi spokesperson Aaron Bennett. “Federal, state and local law enforcement — in coordination with public health officials and stakeholders — are working hard to address the acute crises of fentanyl trafficking and related violence in certain areas of the city.”
Crime has skyrocketed across San Francisco despite recent efforts to crack down on lawlessness. Some activists have since described the city as a “promised land of milk and fentanyl.”
