Maryland lawmakers and local officials said they will fight back after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said July 1 that it plans to have the FBI headquarters remain in Washington, D.C.

The move reverses a plan the General Services Administration, a federal agency that manages the government’s property, approved in 2023 for the bureau to be based in Greenbelt.

The announcement follows several years of consideration between Maryland and Virginia as potential campus locations, according to the Associated Press. Trump said he was opposed to moving the headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Maryland and planned to halt the relocation, The Diamondback reported in March.

The FBI headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover Building are currently located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., a few blocks away from the planned new location.

Establishing the FBI headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building will save taxpayer money and maintain security requirements, according to an agency news release. The decision also avoids a lengthy construction process as the building is an already existing federal property, the news release read.

“We are proud to partner with [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel to drive efficiency and improve the quality of space for a productive workforce in service to national security and taxpayers,” GSA public buildings service commissioner Michael Peters wrote in the statement.

[Trump opposes plan to build new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt]

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy and other state officials issued a joint statement on July 1 arguing that the new location would not meet the FBI’s security needs.

“Simply moving down the street would ignore the real threats the Bureau faces and further jeopardize the safety of those protecting our communities,” the statement read. “That’s why we will be fighting back against this proposal with every tool we have.”

Congress set aside $375 million for the Maryland-based headquarters’ construction in 2023. The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation this session to go into effect on July 1 allocating $200 million to improving infrastructure in the areaaround the proposed Greenbelt site.

Maryland officials are still considering potential actions to take in opposition to the announcement, State Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George’s) told The Diamondback. Williams, who represents Greenbelt, sponsored the recent state bill.

Williams said building the FBI headquarters in Greenbelt will meet necessary security requirements and provide an economic benefit to the area.

“It’s expected to create roughly about 7,500 new jobs and roughly about $4 billion of economic activity to our state,” Williams said. “This is a really important project, not just for Prince George’s County, but for the state of Maryland as a whole.”

[Greenbelt will host new FBI headquarters]

Jobs created from the site would stimulate the local economy because workers would purchase meals and other goods from nearby businesses, District 3 Prince George’s County council member Eric Olson told The Diamondback.

Greenbelt council member Jenni Pompi said the city is an ideal location for the bureau because there are other federal agencies, such as NASA, nearby. The site is also close to the Greenbelt Metro station, she added.

Pompi told The Diamondback the announcement was “disappointing” and “frustrating” because the federal government went through an extensive and fair process to pick the Greenbelt site in 2023.

“It’s about more than just a building. It’s about the national security of our country and the best deal for taxpayers,” Pompi said. “[It is] also a long overdue investment in Prince George’s County and in Greenbelt.”

Uncertainty related to the construction of the FBI headquarters has made it difficult for Greenbelt to move forward with other projects, such as developing housing near its Metro station, Pompi added.

According to Williams, Maryland officials are not currently considering other alternatives for the site until they receive more clarity on the headquarters.

“I don’t think that we are planning on looking at other options at this moment until we exhaust all of our possible remedies,” Williams said.

Olson said he believes Greenbelt will ultimately be the location for the FBI headquarters.

“I will trust our congressional delegation to get the job done,” Olson said. “They know how to work the legislative process.”