Federal judge blocks Trump admin plan to move FBI headquarters to Reagan Building

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to move FBI headquarters into Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Building, preserving the previously selected Greenbelt, Maryland, site for the bureau’s long-planned new headquarters.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled Monday that the FBI and General Services Administration’s (GSA) decisions to select the Reagan Building were “not in accordance with law” and exceeded their statutory authority. The court also found the FBI’s decision to redirect previously appropriated funds toward the move was arbitrary and capricious.

The FBI blasted the decision in a statement to Fox News.

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“This is not the first time courts have tried to undermine the administration in its goal to make government more cost-effective for American taxpayers. The court has chosen to impermissibly intervene for political reasons. This FBI is mission focused and will continue the best course of action to meet the needs of law enforcement. Sycophants seeking to undermine the work of this FBI, which has led the largest reduction in crime in American history under President Trump, will not deter us.”

The ruling marks the latest turn in a fight stretching back more than a decade over replacing the deteriorating J. Edgar Hoover Building, which has housed FBI headquarters since 1974. The court noted that the building is obsolete, cannot house all headquarters staff and does not meet applicable security standards.

GSA selected Greenbelt in 2023 after Congress directed the agency to choose among three previously identified sites: Greenbelt and Landover, Maryland, or Springfield, Virginia. But in July 2025, the FBI and GSA announced that they instead planned to relocate headquarters to the Reagan Building in Washington.

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Chuang found that those congressional site-selection requirements prevented the agencies from unilaterally choosing a different location. The court said the Reagan Building was not among the three sites Congress authorized and that the FBI exceeded its statutory authority by selecting it.

The ruling blocks the FBI from moving forward with its planned headquarters at the Reagan Building and reinstates Greenbelt, Maryland, as the selected site. The judge said Congress would have to change the law if the administration wants to pursue a different location.

The White House referred Fox News Digital to the FBI for comment on the ruling.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this reporting.