Maryland officials filed a lawsuit Thursday against President Donald Trump’s administration, accusing it of unlawfully halting the planned relocation of the FBI headquarters to Greenbelt, Maryland — a project previously approved under the Biden administration.
According to The Associated Press, Gov. Wes Moore joined other state leaders in denouncing the administration’s decision to instead move the FBI’s offices to the Ronald Reagan Building complex in downtown Washington. Moore called the current site “too old, too small and too exposed.”
“The big problem with the current FBI building is that it lacks the modern security provisions and protections that the bureau needs in 2025,” Moore said.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said the Trump administration “illegally discarded years of planning by Congress.”
“What we’re really seeing is an administration that doesn’t like the decision Congress made, so they’re trying to undo it without going back to Congress,” Brown said. “That violates federal law. It violates congressional directives. It harms Marylanders who were promised jobs and opportunities. That’s why we took action.”
Brown accused the administration of attempting “to unlawfully reprogram and transfer over $1 billion in funds that Congress designated specifically for the Greenbelt project.”
“They violated explicit congressional directives that limited site selection to the three authorized locations,” he said. “They ignored federal requirements to consult with state and local government, and they acted arbitrarily and capriciously by abandoning years of careful planning without explanation or justification.”
The lawsuit seeks to block the Reagan Building plan, prevent diversion of federal funds, and force compliance with congressional directives.
Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks backed Maryland’s case, saying the Greenbelt site was selected “after a thorough and transparent selection process” and best met “the Bureau’s security and mission needs.”
“The Trump Administration has no grounds to ignore this selection, or redirect even one penny that Congress specifically appropriated for construction of the competitively selected site,” they said in a joint statement.
Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy said the Greenbelt headquarters would be the county’s largest-ever economic project, creating more than 7,500 jobs and generating $4 billion in economic activity.
The FBI’s current headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, opened in 1975 and has long been criticized for its deteriorating condition. The General Services Administration and FBI said in July that staying in D.C. would save taxpayer money and avoid years of construction delays.
