The city of Greenbelt is celebrating a legal victory in a fight to keep a plan to move the FBI headquarters to the Maryland city on track.
It comes as a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from ending an expected move of the headquarters to Greenbelt and instead relocate it to another D.C. building.
“The court’s ruling is really a victory for Greenbelt and Prince George’s County and Maryland, and for the FBI,” said Greenbelt Mayor Pro Tem Kristen Weaver.
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The ruling restores the project to the site that was selected after a lengthy federal review process. Weaver said the courts backed up the importance of a selection process.
“I think it just emphasizes that there’s a reason for that process and a reason all the steps need to be taken,” she said. “It’s important to respect that process and come to the outcome that is really the best-suited site for the FBI.”
The FBI headquarters project has faced uncertainty since plans emerged to instead move the agency into the Ronald Reagan Building in Downtown D.C. But Weaver said she remained confident Greenbelt would ultimately remain the chosen location.
“I was always hopeful that we would make progress because it is the best site, and the process was rigorous and detailed, and took into account so many different factors,” she said.
Weaver said the site makes the most sense, with the site situated next to the Greenbelt Metro station.
“I think being at a Metro site and that close access is one of the key points. It is right by the Beltway. It’s right by the Baltimore-Washington Parkway,” she said.
City leaders also see the project as a major economic opportunity.
“It’ll be really a boon to the economy, not just in Greenbelt, but in Prince George’s County and all up and down the Metro and MARC line,” Weaver said.
In a statement, the FBI blasted the ruling as politically motivated, saying courts are interfering with the Trump administration’s efforts to find a more cost-effective headquarters solution. The agent vowed to remain focused on its law enforcement mission.
Weaver said the city hopes the project stays on the rails from this point forward and believes, once built, the headquarters will spur new development and improve transportation access around the site.
“I hope to see a reinvigoration of some of our empty office space, some new businesses come in, maybe better improvements in terms of access to the Metro, in terms of better bike and pedestrian access,” she said.
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