Hours before East Potomac Golf Links was scheduled to shut its gates for 15 months, a federal judge stepped in Saturday to halt Donald Trump’s plan to overhaul the historic public course.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes granted an emergency two-week temporary restraining order on Saturday. The ruling blocks the National Park Service from shutting down the 106-year-old property, keeping the fairways open to local golfers on Sunday morning when the closure was set to begin.
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East Potomac Golf Links sits on federally owned land in East Potomac Park and has anchored the capital’s public golf community for over a century. If Trump gets his way, that everyday access could disappear behind ropes and private tournament setups.
A sudden pause for East Potomac Golf Links
Trump announced in May that the property would undergo what he called a “historic renovation” designed to prepare the grounds for major professional championships. Plaintiffs challenged the government in court, arguing that Trump’s redevelopment plan would erase the accessible, affordable character of the municipal course. Trump denies that the project will price out everyday players, though the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The dispute pits regular golfers seeking to protect public recreation against a federal push to transform the grounds into a tour-ready venue. Saturday’s order provides a temporary reprieve for players, but the legal fight over the park’s future is far from settled.
How Trump’s own social media posts hurt his defense
Trump did not help the government’s legal standing when he took to Truth Social on Saturday morning to trash the venue he wants to redesign. He labeled the course “Trash Island” and declared it the worst facility in the world, posting pictures of weathered turf and describing the layout as dangerous.
“The Fairways are far too close together. When you walk down the corridors of Trash Island, you don’t hear the sound of the running Potomac, all you hear is the sound of people screaming, ‘FORE!’,” Trump wrote.
Judge Reyes seized on those online remarks in her decision, pointing out that Trump’s public statements undermined the government’s arguments that plans were still tentative. Reyes noted the posts showed that the Washington National Plan is treated as final and that the National Park Service intended to shutter the park immediately to execute it. Those admissions, she explained, justified an immediate freeze.
Broken trust and cut trees in the courtroom
Reyes, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, previously resisted issuing injunctions against the project. For months, she hesitated to approve work stoppages sought by plaintiffs, even as they warned that the administration was quietly moving forward while the lawsuit remained active.
That stance changed abruptly in October. Federal crews launched an unannounced tree-cutting blitz across the park over a holiday weekend without tipping off the court or the plaintiffs. Government lawyers defended the action by citing a 2019 report that recommended clearing specific timber, but Reyes confronted the administration over what she viewed as deceitful conduct.
The judge has voiced exasperation at having to micro-manage site plans and fallen timber in federal court. Still, the administration’s aggressive tactics convinced her that court intervention was necessary to keep the grounds intact while hearings proceed.
A broader fight over the nation’s capital
The attempted remake of East Potomac Golf Links is not an isolated construction project. It forms part of an ambitious series of structural overhauls Trump has pushed across Washington, including:
- A massive new memorial arch
- A proposed White House ballroom
- Modifications to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The two-week order leaves the 106-year-old park accessible to the public through the middle of the month. Both sides will return before Judge Reyes before the temporary restraining order expires in two weeks, when she will decide whether to block the closure through a full trial.
Source: Fox News
