The State of Maryland and Prince George’s County are suing President Donald Trump for interfering in the long-planned relocation of the FBI to Greenbelt.

“In Maryland, we played by the rules. We won the project fairly and we will not let the administration steal jobs and opportunities from Prince George’s County and Maryland,” Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, said as he announced the federal lawsuit Thursday.

The process to build a new FBI headquarters to replace the aging J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington has stretched for more than 15 years.

Maryland won a lengthy process to land the project, with plans to build an FBI campus adjacent to the Greenbelt Metro Station.

Maryland officials thought their victory was secure after the state prevailed over objections from Virginia, which also competed for the headquarters. Then Trump announced earlier this year that he didn’t want the FBI to go to the “liberal state of Maryland” and preferred the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., instead.

The lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday contends that Trump’s decision to nix Greenbelt in favor of the Reagan building was illegal.

Congress previously passed a law requiring the federal government to pick a headquarters site from among three options in Maryland and Virginia. It also appropriated more than $1 billion for the project. The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration’s actions are in violation of both of those directives.

“That’s not how it works, Mr. President,” Brown said. “When Congress passes a law and appropriates money for a specific purpose, the executive branch doesn’t just ignore it because they don’t like the outcome. That’s exactly what happened here.”

Maryland officials also argued that the Reagan Building, located in the middle of the busy city, is not safe nor suited for the sensitive needs of the FBI. Suburban locations, including Greenbelt, were considered in the first place because they can house a campus-like complex set back from roadways, officials said.

Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy, a Democrat, said the FBI project would bring 7,500 jobs and billions of dollars of needed economic activity to her county.

“We are not going to give something up that is this important without a fight — especially when we won this fair and square,” Braveboy said.

Prince George’s County and the state government have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to help with infrastructure improvements around the Greenbelt site to facilitate construction.

The White House deferred comment to the FBI, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees federal buildings and previously picked Greenbelt, said the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

A succession of politicians took to the microphone to blast Trump and express confidence that the state ultimately will prevail in court.

Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said this isn’t the first time Maryland has sued the Trump administration and won’t be the first time that the state wins.

“If Donald Trump thinks that we are going to roll over when he tries to make life worse for our law enforcement, he better think twice,” Moore said. “And we will see him in court.”

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Democrat, has led Maryland’s effort to get the FBI headquarters since 2009.

“We’re going to win this suit,” Hoyer vowed, “And we’re going to win it back.”

U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat whose district includes Greenbelt, said when he first heard that Trump favored the Reagan Building, he knew a fight was forthcoming.

He recalled saying: “He’s going to hear from our lawyer, and our lawyer is going to kick his butt.”