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Judge blocks FBI plan to move headquarters to Ronald Reagan Building
The court found the FBI unlawfully redirected $555M in congressional appropriations to retrofitting the former U.S. Agency for International Development site.
Housing and government real estate plans hit another hurdle for the FBI as a federal judge blocked the agency’s effort to relocate its headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building, ruling the decision was arbitrary and capricious.
According to Bisnow, U.S. District Court of Maryland Judge Theodore Chuang said the FBI’s selection of the Reagan Building was unlawful because it conflicted with Congressional direction to build a new headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland, and because the FBI exceeded its statutory authority by redirecting $555M in appropriations to retrofitting the former U.S. Agency for International Development headquarters.
Bisnow reports the case was filed in November by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Prince George’s County as co-plaintiffs, naming the GSA and the Justice Department, along with FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials. Brown said the court’s decision clears the path back to Greenbelt.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal, and Bisnow notes a GSA spokesperson called Chuang an activist judge who was wasting taxpayer dollars, adding that GSA plans to pursue what it described as a better option in cost, speed, and value.