Following a lengthy battle between Maryland and Virginia over replacing the deteriorating J. Edgar Hoover Building, the General Services Administration selected Greenbelt, Maryland, for the organization’s new home in 2023.

President Donald Trump, 80, scrapped that decision after returning to office in 2025. His administration proposed moving the bureau into the Ronald Reagan Building, a short walk from its current home. Maryland and Prince George’s County sued that November.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled that the proposed switch was “not in accordance with law.” He prohibited Patel, 46, and Attorney General Todd Blanche, 52, from relocating the FBI to the Reagan Building or funding renovations there, the Associated Press reported.