Judge Blocks Trump Administration's FBI Headquarters Move
9 hours ago
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to relocate FBI headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, ruling that the administration improperly abandoned an earlier plan to build a new facility in Greenbelt, Maryland.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, ruled Monday that the administration’s decision was “not in accordance with law.” The order prevents the administration from moving the FBI into the Reagan Building, renovating the building for the bureau or redirecting funds toward the project.
The Greenbelt location was selected during the Biden administration following years of debate over replacing the aging J. Edgar Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Trump administration officials later sought to reverse that decision and instead repurpose the Reagan Building, located just blocks from the FBI’s current headquarters.
The lawsuit challenging the change was brought by the state of Maryland and Prince George’s County, which argued that significant time and resources had already been committed to bringing the headquarters to Greenbelt.
The FBI criticized the ruling, accusing the court of improperly interfering with the administration’s effort to make the federal government more cost-effective. The bureau said it remains focused on determining the best course of action to meet the needs of federal law enforcement.
The ruling marks the latest turn in a yearslong battle over replacing the FBI’s current headquarters, which opened in 1975 and has fallen into significant disrepair.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, ruled Monday that the administration’s decision was “not in accordance with law.” The order prevents the administration from moving the FBI into the Reagan Building, renovating the building for the bureau or redirecting funds toward the project.
The Greenbelt location was selected during the Biden administration following years of debate over replacing the aging J. Edgar Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Trump administration officials later sought to reverse that decision and instead repurpose the Reagan Building, located just blocks from the FBI’s current headquarters.
The lawsuit challenging the change was brought by the state of Maryland and Prince George’s County, which argued that significant time and resources had already been committed to bringing the headquarters to Greenbelt.
The FBI criticized the ruling, accusing the court of improperly interfering with the administration’s effort to make the federal government more cost-effective. The bureau said it remains focused on determining the best course of action to meet the needs of federal law enforcement.
The ruling marks the latest turn in a yearslong battle over replacing the FBI’s current headquarters, which opened in 1975 and has fallen into significant disrepair.
