A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's plan to relocate the FBI headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., preserving the previously selected site in Greenbelt, Maryland. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled on August 19, 2026, that the decisions made by the FBI and the General Services Administration (GSA) were not in accordance with the law and exceeded their statutory authority. The court found that the FBI's decision to redirect previously appropriated funds for the move was arbitrary and capricious.
In response to the ruling, the FBI issued a statement expressing discontent, claiming that the decision undermines the administration's efforts to make government more cost-effective. The ruling is part of a long-standing debate over replacing the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which has served as the FBI headquarters since 1974. The court noted that the current building is obsolete and does not meet security standards.
The GSA had selected Greenbelt as the site for the new headquarters in 2023 after Congress directed the agency to choose from three previously identified locations. However, in July 2025, the FBI and GSA announced plans to move to the Reagan Building instead. Judge Chuang stated that congressional site-selection requirements prevented the agencies from unilaterally choosing a different location, indicating that any change would require a modification of the law by Congress.