Judge rules Trump administration cannot halt FBI HQ move to Maryland

WASHINGTON - A judge has sided with Maryland and Prince George’s County officials, ruling that the Trump administration cannot halt the planned relocation of the FBI headquarters to Greenbelt, Maryland.

What we know:

The administration attempted to stop the planned move to the Greenbelt site, and was instead seeking to relocate the bureau to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

The president also aimed to redirect more than $1 billion in congressional funding that had been approved for the development in Greenbelt.

The legal challenge was filed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Prince George’s County to block the administration’s attempt to abandon the Greenbelt site and divert the federal funds.

AG Brown reacted to the decision, saying in a statement, "This victory is about more than a building. It is about ensuring that when Congress makes a decision, the Federal Government cannot simply ignore it because they do not like the outcome."

Dig deeper:

The FBI has been headquartered at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., since 1974.

In December 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel announced plans to permanently close the aging facility, citing the need for a safer, more modern site, and proposed moving the bureau to the Reagan Building while reassigning additional staff to the field.

The proposal faced pushback from Maryland leaders, including U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who raised security concerns about moving FBI headquarters into a publicly accessible space like the Reagan Building. He argued that the federal government should honor the original commitment to Prince George's County.

State and local officials noted that Maryland had committed over $300 million toward infrastructure and development for the Greenbelt project.

The Trump administration has not yet shared a comment. 

NewsWashington, D.C.