A federal judge on Saturday, Nov. 14, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from closing East Potomac Park and its public golf course in Washington.[1] U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued the temporary restraining order one day before the East Potomac Golf Links was due to close for 15 months.[1] President Donald Trump wants to rebuild the site along the Potomac River as a championship-level course.[1] The order stays in effect through Nov. 28 or until a further court order, whichever comes first.[1]
Related: Supreme Court Will Hear Trump’s Ban on Asylum at the Southern Border.
What the order requires
The order bars the government from closing the park and the course during the daily hours they were open as of Nov. 14.[1] It does not require the administration to actively manage either one.[2] The government does not have to run golf operations such as the concession stand or pro shop.[3]
The government “cannot use the absence of golf operations as a reason to exclude the public from the Course,” Reyes wrote.[3] The order allows routine, temporary closures and closures needed to address “articulated, imminent threats to public safety.”[3] The government also remains free to make repairs, with the notice an earlier injunction requires.[1]
Why the judge ruled against the closure
Reyes wrote in a 30-page decision that the administration’s stated reasons for closing the park were “pretextual.”[4] She wrote that the government violated at least two federal laws “to meet an arbitrary deadline.”[4]
Trump’s social media posts weighed heavily in the decision.[1] Trump wrote on Oct. 26 that the site would close Nov. 15 “in order to renovate and rebuild.”[1] The posts “indicate that the Washington National Plan is final and that NPS will close the Park to implement it,” Reyes wrote, referring to the National Park Service.[1]
The administration argued that the whole park had to close because of a deteriorating sea wall and safety risks at the golf course.[2] It also cited the departure of the course operator, the National Links Trust, on Nov. 15.[2] “If public safety were at risk, NPS would have taken a step—any step—to address the safety issues it knew about,” Reyes wrote.[3]
The judge pointed to the Park Service’s removal of trees at the course last month.[3] CBS News reported that more than 500 trees were cut down in a weekend.[2] Reyes wrote that the agency felled “over 400 healthy trees” within 10 days, NBC News reported.[3]
How both sides responded
“Nothing in the Court’s order precludes planning for the development of a world class golf course to continue,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News.[2] The spokesperson said the court had acknowledged that the Park Service can limit access to facilities where the public is at risk of harm.[2]
Democracy Forward represents the plaintiffs.[1] “We are grateful that once again, a court has intervened to prevent irreparable harm,” said Catherine Carroll, the group’s senior legal adviser.[2]
Trump criticized Reyes on Truth Social hours before the ruling.[3] “Trash Island is currently the Worst Golf Course anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote.[3] He wrote that Washington-area residents would get a 50% discount on rates at the rebuilt course.[1] More on the administration is on The Boston Report’s White House page.
The lawsuit and the redevelopment plan
The DC Preservation League and two local golfers filed the legal challenge in February.[1] The plaintiffs argue that the plan would change the character of the accessible course and make it unaffordable, which Trump denies.[1]
The park has three golf courses totaling 36 holes, a miniature golf course and a paved loop used by cyclists and runners.[4] The proposed redesign would turn the area into a single 18-hole championship course.[4] The design, by golf course architect Tom Fazio, removes the road around the peninsula and the recreational space at its southern end.[2]
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said at a hearing Friday that he “would be shocked to learn there is a contract” with Fazio finalizing the plans.[2] A new sea wall is expected to cost more than $300 million and take at least two and a half years to build.[2] That estimate comes from a proposal the Park Service submitted to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts last week.[2]
What comes next
The National Capital Planning Commission is set to consider the proposal for the new course at a Dec. 3 meeting.[2] Reyes separately plans to name Jessie Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to examine whether government officials and lawyers misled the court.[1] The Justice Department opposes the appointment.[2] The department asked that Reyes be removed from the case, and she has not recused herself.[1]
The golf course is one of several Washington projects Trump has championed.[1] Judges have blocked work at the Kennedy Center and on a planned arch.[3] The Supreme Court earlier this year allowed construction of a ballroom on the White House grounds.[3] The Trump presidency tracker follows the administration’s actions, and more coverage is on the politics and government hub.
Sources
- NPR (Associated Press): Judge temporarily blocks Trump from moving ahead on Washington public golf course redevelopment
- CBS News: Federal judge blocks Trump from closing historic D.C. golf course, for now
- NBC News: Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s plan to redevelop East Potomac golf course in D.C.
- The Guardian: US judge blocks Trump’s plan to renovate historic DC golf course
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