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A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to abandon its effort to keep the FBI headquarters in Washington, ruling that the Justice Department improperly overrode a prior federal decision to relocate the bureau to Maryland.
U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang of Maryland barred FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche from moving the bureau into the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Northwest Washington.
The ruling represents a major victory for Maryland officials and Prince George’s County, which have fought for years to secure the new FBI headquarters.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, a Democrat, said the decision was about more than the location of a federal 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,” Brown said.
Gov. Wes Moore, also a Democrat, said Trump had failed in his effort to take away a headquarters project Maryland had already won.
“Now it is time to stop the games,” Moore said, “and get to work building the world-class FBI headquarters that our public servants deserve, where it belongs: in Prince George’s County, Maryland.”
The Justice Department and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Judge says Trump administration violated federal law
The dispute centers on a decision made in 2023 by the U.S. General Services Administration, the federal agency responsible for government property.
During the Biden administration, the GSA selected Greenbelt in Prince George’s County as the site for a new FBI headquarters after a yearslong review.
The selection followed a competitive process involving three finalists: two sites in Maryland and one in Virginia.
Maryland officials argued that the Greenbelt location would provide the FBI with a secure modern facility while bringing significant economic investment and jobs to Prince George’s County.
But after Trump returned to office, his administration reversed the decision and announced that the FBI would remain in Washington.
Patel and the GSA subsequently moved forward with plans to renovate the Reagan Building as the bureau’s future headquarters.
Maryland and Prince George’s County sued the administration in November 2025, arguing that federal officials had disregarded congressional directives governing the headquarters selection process.
Chuang ruled Monday that the administration’s decision to redirect the FBI to Washington was not authorized by Congress.
Congress had restricted Reagan Building funding
The Trump administration and GSA had argued that keeping the FBI in Washington would save money and avoid costly maintenance and construction expenses.
GSA officials previously estimated that renovating the Reagan Building would cost about $1.6 billion, compared with as much as $2.4 billion to construct a new headquarters campus in Greenbelt.
The agency also argued that maintaining the aging J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance costs.
But Chuang said those financial arguments could not override Congress.
The judge pointed to a provision in the 2026 appropriations law that prohibits the administration from using previously appropriated funds for a Reagan Building renovation until the FBI submits a complete architectural and building plan for its proposed headquarters.
Congress, Chuang wrote, had not approved the administration’s change.
The ruling therefore prevents Patel and Blanche from proceeding with the Reagan Building plan.
FBI headquarters fight has lasted for years
The FBI has sought a new headquarters for years because the Hoover Building has deteriorated and been deemed inadequate for the bureau’s security and operational needs.
The agency began searching for a new location in 2016, eventually narrowing the competition to Maryland and Virginia sites.
Maryland ultimately prevailed, despite opposition from Virginia lawmakers and senior FBI officials who favored a location in Springfield, Virginia.
The Biden administration’s 2023 selection of Greenbelt was supposed to resolve the dispute.
Trump’s decision to keep the FBI in Washington reopened the fight.
The administration’s decision also became part of a broader series of disputes between Trump and Maryland officials over federal policies and projects affecting the state.
What happens next
Monday’s order puts the Greenbelt headquarters project back at the center of the FBI’s future plans, although the administration could challenge the ruling.
The decision also creates another test of the limits of executive power over federal spending and government property.
For Maryland officials, the ruling restores a project they argue was awarded after years of evaluation and a formal federal selection process.
For the Trump administration, the case highlights the limits of changing that decision without congressional authorization.
The immediate question is whether the administration will appeal Chuang’s order or return to the Greenbelt plan that was selected in 2023.
