Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan to Keep FBI Headquarters in Washington
A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from abandoning a planned new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland, and relocating the bureau to Washington, D.C.
Reuters reported that the ruling prevents the administration from halting the long-running project, which the federal government selected in 2023 after evaluating sites in Maryland and Virginia. The General Services Administration chose the 61-acre Greenbelt site for its combination of security, transportation access and development potential.
The planned campus was intended to replace the aging J. Edgar Hoover Building, which the FBI has occupied since the 1970s, and consolidate employees and operations spread across multiple facilities. The building, designed in the 1960s and opened in 1975, has been criticized for deteriorating infrastructure, outdated systems, security limitations and high maintenance costs.
The replacement effort has been underway for decades and has repeatedly become a political dispute involving Maryland, Virginia and Washington over federal jobs, investment and real estate.
After returning to office, Trump said in March 2025 that he wanted to keep FBI headquarters in Washington, arguing the bureau should remain near the Justice Department and other federal law-enforcement agencies. The administration later selected the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in downtown Washington instead of proceeding with Greenbelt, effectively scrapping years of planning and preparation.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Prince George’s County sued in November 2025, arguing officials unlawfully diverted the project from the site selected through the GSA’s established process.
Monday’s ruling is a victory for Maryland and Prince George’s County, but it does not immediately move the FBI to a new headquarters. Additional legal and administrative steps could affect the timeline, and the administration could appeal.
The ruling also leaves unresolved what will happen to the Reagan Building plan. The administration had argued that keeping the FBI in Washington made logistical and operational sense and avoided the lengthy construction of a suburban campus. Trump also criticized Greenbelt as too far from central Washington.
Maryland officials have argued that Greenbelt is part of the Washington metropolitan area and was selected after an extensive federal evaluation considering security, transportation, cost, proximity to federal agencies and the FBI workforce.
The project carries significant economic stakes for Maryland, with thousands of federal employees and substantial construction and infrastructure investment expected in Prince George’s County. The purpose-built campus was also intended to provide modern security and enough space to consolidate headquarters functions.
The legal fight could affect billions of dollars in federal construction and real estate decisions and highlights the difficulty of reversing major projects after years of site selection, planning and investment.
For now, the ruling blocks the Trump administration’s effort to replace the Greenbelt project with a Washington headquarters arrangement and puts the Maryland plan back at the center of efforts to replace the FBI’s aging downtown headquarters.
