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Judge blocks Trump's plan to keep FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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A federal judge in Maryland, Theodore Chuang, blocked President Donald Trump's plan to keep the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., ruling that the decision illegally discarded the General Services Administration's (GSA) congressionally approved 2023 plan to build a new complex in Greenbelt, Maryland. Congress had required the GSA to select a suburban site outside D.C., and the Biden administration chose Greenbelt after nearly 15 years of debate. Trump attempted to reverse this by moving the FBI to the Ronald Reagan Building, prompting a lawsuit from Maryland. The judge barred the administration from moving the FBI to the Reagan Building or diverting about $1 billion in funding approved for the Greenbelt campus. The ruling is likely not the end of the dispute, and the FBI continues to operate from its aging J. Edgar Hoover Building.
Source report
A federal judge in Maryland on Monday blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to keep the FBI headquartered in Washington, D.C., ruling that the decision illegally discarded the General Services Administration’s (GSA) congressionally approved 2023 decision to build a new complex in Maryland.
Background
The administration said last year that the FBI would move from its longtime headquarters in the J. Edgar Hoover Building to the Ronald Reagan Building a few blocks away — the previous home of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Congress, through a pair of laws, required the GSA to pick a site for the FBI headquarters “from among three suburban locations outside of Washington,” according to Reuters. The Biden administration selected Greenbelt, Maryland, ending “almost 15 years” of debate on where to base the law enforcement agency.
Legal Challenge
Maryland sued after Trump attempted to reverse course. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang agreed with the state, barring the administration from:
- Moving the FBI to the Ronald Reagan Building
- Diverting approximately $1 billion in funding approved for the Greenbelt campus
What’s Next
Chuang’s ruling is “almost certainly not the end of the lengthy dispute,” The New York Times reported. “In the meantime, the FBI continues to operate from its old headquarters, an aging colossus veiled in netting to keep concrete from falling on passers-by.”
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Federal Judge Blocks FBI HQ Relocation to Reagan Building