Federal Judge Blocks FBI Headquarters Relocation to Washington, D.C.

A federal judge in Maryland has halted the Trump administration’s plan to move the FBI’s proposed headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. This decision comes after the Biden administration announced in 2023 a relocation plan to Greenbelt, Maryland.

In July 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel indicated the Reagan Building as the new site, citing cost and resource efficiency. Nevertheless, last November, Maryland filed a lawsuit claiming the Trump administration had sought to undermine the 2023 plan unlawfully and redirect more than $323 million in designated funds.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang supported Maryland, stating that the actions taken by the Trump administration to reroute the funding and terminate the plan were unjustified and violated federal law. He detailed his findings in a 47-page opinion.

The FBI’s headquarters has been at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington since 1975, but structural issues have been problematic for two decades. The Trump administration, in collaboration with the General Services Administration, initially chose the Reagan Building to replace it. This location was previously occupied by the U.S. Agency for International Development until 2025, before its operations were consolidated into the State Department.

President Trump criticized the FBI’s relocation to Maryland, labeling it a “liberal state” in a past Justice Department speech. During his first term, he considered moving the headquarters to Maryland or Virginia but instead proposed a smaller site in Washington to replace the Hoover Building.

Under the Biden administration, the GSA finalized the Greenbelt location for the FBI, concluding a 15-year deliberation. Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown stated, “Maryland and Prince George’s County committed more than a decade of work to earn the FBI headquarters and pledged hundreds of millions of dollars. By blocking the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempt to move the FBI to the Reagan Building and divert the funds Congress set aside for this project, the Court has cleared the path back to Greenbelt.” The FBI has not yet commented on the ruling.