Federal judge blocks Trump-backed push to shut down Washington DC’s East Potomac Golf Links
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U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a temporary restraining order stopping the closure of the historic East Potomac Golf Links, keeping the public course open while a legal fight continues over the administration’s redevelopment plans.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday that blocks the U.S. government from closing East Potomac Golf Links, a 106-year-old public golf course in Washington, D.C. The order preserves the status quo while the court continues to weigh a lawsuit filed by the DC Preservation League and other groups challenging the administration’s redevelopment plans.
Reyes said the administration’s rationale for the closure was pretextual and that the government had violated at least two federal statutes by trying to impose an arbitrary deadline. She also noted that the government had failed to show any specific harm that would come from keeping the course operating as it does now.
President Donald Trump, who announced the renovation in October, portrayed the project as a way to build a world-class venue that would stay open to the public. He posted on Truth Social that the existing course is “old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect,” pointing to concerns about tree safety and a deteriorating seawall.
"The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect. It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous, and disease-infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall," Trump wrote.
The dispute began in February when the preservation groups sued over the redevelopment proposals. In October, the National Park Service began cutting trees at the site, prompting Reyes to order the work stopped and to require advance notice for any further permanent changes. The judge has also opened an inquiry into whether Justice Department attorneys may have misrepresented facts to the court.
East Potomac Golf Links is one of three public courses managed by the National Park Service in the capital, located about two miles south of the White House.