Judge halts FBI plan to relocate headquarters in DC after Maryland lawsuit 

Published August 18, 2026 10:48am ET | Updated August 18, 2026 10:48am ET



A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from moving the FBI headquarters to a federal building in Washington, D.C., after a yearslong battle over the agency’s future home.

The FBI’s current headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, is severely deteriorated and outdated, requiring millions of dollars in maintenance. The Biden administration selected a site in Greenbelt, Maryland, for a new FBI campus after an intense competition over the location. But last year, the Trump administration announced that the FBI would instead move to the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, saying the decision would “support the administration’s goal to optimize the federal real-estate portfolio” and save taxpayer money.

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