Judge blocks Trump plan to keep FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Published Aug 18, 02:51 PM UTC

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 administration illegally discarded a congressionally approved 2023 decision by the General Services Administration (GSA) to build a new complex in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Trump administration had sought to move the FBI from the J. Edgar Hoover Building to the Ronald Reagan Building, a few blocks away, diverting about $1 billion in funding approved for the Maryland campus. Maryland sued after Trump reversed the previous plan, which ended nearly 15 years of debate. The judge barred the move to the Reagan Building and the diversion of funds. The New York Times noted the ruling is likely not the end of the dispute, and the FBI continues to operate from its aging Hoover Building, which is covered in netting to prevent falling concrete.