A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s effort to scrap the planned new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland, and relocate it instead to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled that the administration lacked legal authority to abandon the Greenbelt site selected in 2023 and divert $555 million in congressional funding to the D.C. building. Chuang, an Obama appointee, sided with the state of Maryland and Prince George’s County.
Congressional measures passed in 2022 and 2023 required the General Services Administration to choose from three suburban sites outside the District of Columbia: Greenbelt or Landover in Maryland, or Springfield, Virginia. The GSA selected Greenbelt under the Biden administration. In July 2025 the Trump administration canceled that plan, arguing the Reagan Building would be a far cheaper option that could save billions.
The judge ruled that the administration lacked authority to abandon the congressionally approved Greenbelt site, select the Ronald Reagan Building instead, and redirect funds that Congress had appropriated for the headquarters project.
