A federal judge in Maryland on Monday blocked the Trump administration's effort to relocate the FBI's proposed new headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., ruling that the administration's cancellation of an earlier plan to move the bureau to Greenbelt, Maryland, and its diversion of congressionally designated funding were unlawful.
Federal judge blocks Trump administration plan to move FBI headquarters to Reagan Building
A federal judge in Maryland on Monday blocked the Trump administration's effort to relocate the FBI's proposed new headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., ruling that the administration's cancellation of an earlier plan to move the bureau to Greenbelt, Maryland, and its diversion of congressionally designated funding were unlawful.
The Biden administration announced in 2023 that the FBI's new headquarters would be built in Greenbelt, Maryland, ending what the source describes as a 15-year debate over whether to relocate the bureau. The FBI has been housed at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington since 1975; the source notes structural problems have affected the building for about 20 years.
In July 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the bureau would instead move a few blocks from its current location to the Reagan Building, which he said offered 'the most cost-effective and resource-efficient way to carry out our mission.' The Reagan Building had housed the U.S. Agency for International Development until 2025, when the Trump administration consolidated USAID into the State Department and allowed Customs and Border Protection to take over the building's lease.
Maryland filed suit last November against Patel and the bureau, alleging the Trump administration had attempted to 'unlawfully sabotage' the 2023 Greenbelt plan and illegally divert more than $323 million that Congress had designated for it.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang sided with Maryland in a 47-page opinion, writing that the administration's move to divert the funding and cancel the plan was 'arbitrary and capricious and not in accordance with law,' among other violations of federal law.
During his first term, President Trump had considered moving the FBI but abandoned a plan that would have relocated it to one of three sites in Maryland or Virginia, instead proposing a smaller headquarters in Washington to replace the Hoover Building.
- The source does not state whether the Trump administration or the FBI plans to appeal Judge Chuang's ruling.
- The source does not state what specific next steps, if any, the Greenbelt project would require following the ruling.
- The source does not detail what the 'hundreds of millions of dollars' pledged by Maryland and Prince George's County consists of or under what terms.
- The FBI did not respond to a request for comment before publication, so its current official position on the ruling is not established.
- The source does not state the current condition or timeline of the Greenbelt site itself.
- The source does not specify which other federal law violations, beyond the 'arbitrary and capricious' standard, Judge Chuang identified in the 47-page opinion.