Judge temporarily blocks Trump from moving ahead on Washington public golf course redevelopment
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Saturday ordered a two-week delay to any work at a historic Washington public golf course not far from the White House, blocking for now President Donald Trump's push to redevelop the site along the Potomac River into a championship-level venue.U.S.District Judge Ana Reyes issued the temporary restraining order before the East Potomac Golf Links was due to close Sunday for 15 months.
Trump had announced work would begin that day despite the legal challenge initiated against the project in February by the DC Preservation League and two local golfers.The plaintiffs argue that Trump's plan would change the character of the accessible golf course and make it unaffordable, something the Republican president denies.They had sought the stop-work order, saying that closing the course and launching work on the project would "irreparably injure plaintiffs and the public interest."The president's public announcements on social media last month outlining the date of the closure of East Potomac Park and linking it to the renovation of the golf course weighed heavily in the decision.
Trump said on Oct.26 that "We are closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on November 15th in order to renovate and rebuild for Competitive (with other such projects!), Safety, Modernization, and Aesthetic reasons." He added that the goal was to renovate and rebuild "a World Championship Public Facility."Reyes in her ruling Saturday noted that Trump's posts presented a problem for the government.
"They indicate that the Washington National Plan is final and that NPS will close the Park to implement it," she wrote."Both points favor granting Plaintiffs' motion for another temporary restraining order."Reyes said her order "ENJOINS the government from closing East Potomac Park and the East Potomac Golf Course during the daily hours in which they were open as of November 14, 2026.
It does not order the Government to undertake any active management of e...