Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023–1:44 p.m.

-John Bailey, Rome News-Tribune-

Rome’s congressional office in the federal building downtown quietly closed without much fanfare near the end of 2022.

The office provided constituent services for the 14th Congressional District. Congressional offices provide a number of services including congressional commendation applications, help with federal agencies, and service academy nominations.

For months prior to the closing of the Rome office, repeated questions to the staff of 14th District Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene about plans for the office went unanswered. Questions directed to Greene’s staff on Friday were also unanswered.

The federal courthouse on West First Street has undergone several changes over the past two decades. In 2007 the U.S. post office moved from the second floor to a standalone location on Coligni Way off Martha Berry Boulevard.

Since then, the building that used to house court proceedings from two U.S. District judges and a U.S. Magistrate judge on the third floor has been reconfigured.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter Johnson’s offices and courtroom were moved to the second floor several years ago and the Internal Revenue Service’s offices were expanded in the remake of the building.
More recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation office moved from the Rome office to a location in Cartersville. That office in Cartersville is one of 14 resident agencies across the state. Georgia’s main FBI office is located in Atlanta.

Greene filed a bill in January to have the building named after the late U.S. District Court Judge Harold L. Murphy. Murphy’s courtroom was in that building for over four decades.

This story is possible because of a news-sharing agreement with the Rome News-Tribune. More information can be found at northwestgeorgianews.com.