But when Carney submitted his budget for fiscal year 2026 the day before he left office in January to become mayor of Wilmington, Williams and Paradee were astonished and infuriated.

The controversial lease had returned.

Carney’s budget request included a $3 million, one-time expense to relocate the DOJ to vacant space in the Brandywine Building. The 19-story building, once part of the chemical company DuPont’s downtown empire, is now owned by the Buccini Pollin Group. The Citi banking conglomerate is its major tenant.

“I was outraged, outraged,” Paradee said, “because we have had so many knockdown, drag-out arguments over this, and we thought it was settled.”

So on the first day of budget hearings in February, the matter was the first one Rep. Williams addressed.

“The $3 million for the lease, we have repeatedly said, ‘No, no, no.’ And it’s back in here again,” an incredulous Williams told the panel. “It’s very disappointing.”

Yet today, the $3 million request still remains in the revised budget proposal of Carney’s successor, Gov. Matt Meyer.

Jennings ‘adamant that the Buccini space is the right space’

The story of the proposed lease that just won’t go away involves actions on its behalf by Jennings, Carney and Meyer — three Democratic titans of Delaware politics from Wilmington who all have received generous campaign donations from developers Robert and Christopher Buccini, co-founders of Buccini Pollin Group.

Williams and Paradee are also Democrats but aren’t from Wilmington and haven’t received donations from the Buccinis. Rep. Williams represents the Stanton area a few miles southwest of Wilmington. Sen. Paradee’s district includes the Dover area.

Landing the $3 million lease for the Brandywine Building would be a lucrative deal for Buccini Pollin Group in a tough commercial real estate market. To that end, company officials and lobbyists have called and met with lawmakers in an effort to gain support for the lease.

BPG, as the company calls itself, has built hundreds of apartments and also renovated several commercial buildings downtown in recent decades. WHYY rents office space from BPG on Wilmington’s Market Street for its Delaware Desk.

Beyond the political and business power dynamics, the dispute is also noteworthy because elected Delaware officials from the same party, especially the ruling Democrats, rarely squabble in public, especially over something as seemingly mundane as the cost and location of office space for a state agency.

It’s not exactly a hot-button issue.

But with such strident opposition from the two lawmakers who have the greatest legislative influence on what actually gets into the budget, why is the proposal still alive?

That answer depends on who you ask.

Jennings, who had initiated the effort more than a year ago, would not agree to an interview with WHYY News on the subject. Her spokesman Mat Marshall said that while the move initially appealed to her and she pitched it in Dover last spring, Jennings abandoned her effort months ago.

She’s now focused on increasing salaries for the agency’s nearly 250 deputy attorneys general, who have formed a union and are negotiating for their first contract, Marshall said. He added that attraction and retention of attorneys is a continuing problem for the DOJ.

In a written statement to WHYY News last week, Jennings emphasized that she was no longer interested in leasing the Brandywine Building.

“We are not pursuing space in the Brandywine Building. It is not viable and we moved on,” the attorney general’s statement said. “We are satisfied that the state has the space we need at 704 N. King Street.”

Robert Buccini, who often discusses projects with the media, would not agree to an interview about the proposed lease. Instead, Buccini said in a written statement that he agrees with Jennings’ decision to prioritize pay for her staff attorneys over getting “upgraded office space” to help the DOJ “attract and retain talent.”

The change of heart by Jennings, who is seeking a third four-year term in 2026, seemed to surprise Carney, who is now the mayor of Wilmington.

“I only put it in the budget with support from the Attorney General’s Office,” Carney told WHYY News last week. “So you might ask her that question again.”

Carney, who wants to reduce the city’s commercial office vacancy rate of roughly 20%, said the move does make sense because several state agencies could use office space in Wilmington.

Even if the Attorney General’s Office does lease the Brandywine Building, other state agencies with leases that will be expiring, such as the Criminal Justice Council, could go to 704 King St. once it’s renovated, Carney said.

“It’s much more complicated than the simplistic way that you’re presenting it,” Carney told a reporter.

Meyer, who took office in January, would not agree to an interview about the subject.

Nick Merlino, his deputy chief of staff, said that when Meyer began preparing his required revision of Carney’s budget after taking office Jan. 21, both Carney and Jennings told him they supported the $3 million for the DOJ’s relocation and lease.

Rep. Williams said Gov. Meyer told her in February that Jennings said she still wanted to make the move to the Brandywine Building.

Williams said Meyer told her Carney had mentioned the need for the lease during a transition meeting, but what mattered more than what his predecessor wanted was what Jennings wanted.

Williams said Meyer told her Jennings “made it clear that she’s adamant that the Buccini space is the right space.”

It makes sense that Meyer would want to check first with Jennings. While he and Carney are both powerful Democrats, Delaware political insiders have described their relationship as distant. Carney also had vocally supported then-Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long over Meyer in last fall’s gubernatorial primary.

Jennings and her spokesman Marshall would not address the discrepancies between the attorney general’s account and the ones provided by Carney, Williams and Meyer’s aide Merlino.

Williams said the conflicting stories illustrate why she remains baffled by the proposed lease that Delaware’s political elite so far have refused to kill.

“I don’t understand all this, honestly,” Williams said. “I just don’t understand why everyone is so invested in a $3 million lease. It’s just mind-boggling.”