Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration's FBI Headquarters Move

A US judge on Monday, August 17, 2026, blocked plans to move the FBI's headquarters to a federal office building in Washington, finding that President Donald Trump's administration illegally tossed out a previously approved plan.

US District Judge Theodore D. Chuang, an appointee of President Barack Obama, ruled that the move was not in accordance with law and blocked the Trump administration from moving the FBI to the Reagan building, renovating it, or repurposing funds. The ruling is the latest development in a yearslong battle over where to house the main office for the nation's premier law enforcement agency.

A site in Greenbelt, Maryland, was picked during former President Joe Biden's administration in 2023. However, Trump appointees sought to reverse that decision last year in favor of repurposing the Ronald Reagan Building, a federal office complex a few blocks from the FBI's existing headquarters. The suit was brought by the state of Maryland and Prince George's County.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, stated that Maryland and Prince George's County committed more than a decade of work to earn the FBI headquarters and pledged hundreds of millions of dollars. Brown said the ruling cleared the way for the headquarters project to return to Greenbelt. The FBI has been headquartered in downtown Washington at the J. Edgar Hoover Building since 1975, but structural problems have plagued it for the last 20 years.

In July 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the bureau would relocate to the Reagan Building, stating it offered the most cost-effective and resource-efficient way to carry out our mission. Last November, Maryland sued Patel and the bureau, alleging the Trump administration attempted to unlawfully sabotage the 2023 plan and illegally divert over $323 million in designated congressional funding.

Judge Chuang sided with Maryland, writing in a 47-page opinion that the Trump administration's move to divert funding and cancel the plan was arbitrary and capricious and not in accordance with law, in addition to other violations of federal law.