FBI Headquarters Move to DC Blocked by Federal Judge

FBI headquarters will not move to a Washington office building, after a federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s plan and found it illegally scrapped a previously approved site in Maryland.

A years-long fight over a new home

The ruling is the latest turn in a long-running dispute over where to house the nation’s top law enforcement agency. A site in Greenbelt, Maryland, was chosen during former President Joe Biden’s administration, but Trump appointees moved last year to reverse that decision in favor of repurposing the Ronald Reagan Building, a federal office complex a few blocks from the FBI’s current headquarters.

U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang, an appointee of President Barack Obama, ruled that the switch was “not in accordance with law.” He blocked the administration from moving the FBI into the Reagan Building, renovating it for the agency or repurposing funds for that use.

FBI pushes back on the ruling

The FBI said in a statement: “This is not the first time courts have tried to undermine the administration in its goal to make government more cost-effective.” The agency argued “the court has chosen to impermissibly intervene for political reasons.”

The lawsuit was brought by the state of Maryland and Prince George’s County.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said “Maryland and Prince George’s County committed more than a decade of work to earn the FBI headquarters,” adding that the ruling cleared “the path back to Greenbelt.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said it’s time to “get to work building the world-class FBI headquarters” in Prince George’s County.

An aging building in need of replacement

The FBI’s current headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, was dedicated in 1975. The brutalist-style structure now requires protective netting due to deteriorating conditions. Maryland was selected for the new site over Virginia following competition between the two states.