Joni Ernst Urges Closure of Nancy Pelosi Federal Building over Safety Risks

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is calling for the closure of the recently renovated Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in Democrat-run San Francisco. She cites severe public safety concerns amid a spike in crime and drug activity in the area and describes the “haunted house” as a “far-left failure” and “symbol” of government dysfunction.

Advocating for the building’s closure, on Wednesday, Ernst blamed far-left political policies for creating health and safety risks for workers at the Golden City structure due to the city’s current chaotic conditions.

“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,” she stated. 

She also highlighted the irony that the building now serves as a “symbol of the way government doesn’t work, with offices and workplaces largely empty due to misguided policies of the federal, state, and city governments.” 

“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 declared, as she called to “shut down” the 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?” she concluded.

The building currently houses various federal offices, including Pelosi’s local office. 

Despite a federal push for in-person work, the unsafe conditions, highlighted by an alarming number of overdoses and violent incidents near the facility, have led the Department of Health and Human Services to advise employees against coming to the office. 

The area around the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building continues to witness rampant drug overdoses and direct threats to federal employees, including being threatened with knives and even chased with a hammer.

Criticizing former House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) and other liberal politicians for the deteriorating security situation, Ernst suggested the relocation of employees to safer federal facilities within the area.

In a letter to the U.S. General Services Administration, which “manages the property” and spent $3 million redesigning the building’s public plaza “in order to maximize its use by the community and employees,” Ernst described it as “extremely concerning” that the “city’s inability to control crime is endangering civil servants, children, and visitors.”

In August, Breitbart News reported that crime levels in San Francisco reached such high levels that staff at the Nancy Pelosi Federal building had been told to work from home.