A long-planned effort to move the FBI headquarters to Greenbelt is again on hold.

In a speech last week at the Department of Justice, President Donald Trump said that he would oppose the move, arguing that Greenbelt is “three hours away.”

It’s actually about 40 minutes, depending on traffic, from the current FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. to Greenbelt.

The General Services Administration chose Greenbelt over other top finalists, Landover, Md., and Springfield, Va., in 2023.

“They were going to build an FBI headquarters three hours away in Maryland, a liberal state,” Trump told Department of Justice staffers. “But that has no bearing on what I’m about to say. We’re going to stop it. I’m not going to let it happen.”

The FBI headquarters would have meant 7,500 employees working out of Greenbelt. Local officials have long argued that it would boost the Prince George’s economy and address an imbalance in federal spending between Virginia and Maryland.

Trump added that he would instead “build another big FBI building right where it is.”

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