Judge pauses East Potomac Golf Course renovations pending litigation

A federal judge in Washington extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s renovation of the East Potomac Golf Course.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction on Monday. The order temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the course. The administration must provide 10 days’ written notice before making any irreversible changes to the course's features while the lawsuit is active.

The dispute began after President Donald Trump announced on social media on October 18 that he would close the course for 15 months starting November 15. He planned to redevelop the 106-year-old park despite a court challenge filed by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers. The next day, Trump posted that work would start immediately. Reyes had previously ordered the administration to suspend work until at least October 26.

Reyes criticized the government’s approach in her written decision. She noted that workers cut down at least 400 trees over a holiday weekend with little notice to the plaintiffs. She stated that the government forced her hand by acting against its assurances. The judge rejected the administration’s request to recuse herself, dismissing claims of egregious behavior from an earlier emergency hearing.

“The Court earlier stated, ‘I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees,’” Reyes wrote. “The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law.” She added that the case has evolved from a dispute about golf into a test of the government’s word against sworn testimony from its own employees.

President Trump responded to the ruling late Monday night upon returning to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland from a rally in Mississippi. He said the project has the go-ahead and indicated work would proceed as planned. Trump called the judge an architectural critic of golf courses and said she knows nothing about the field. He described the planned overhaul as a beautiful project for Washington, D.C.

In a social media post, Trump reiterated that the course would close on November 15 for renovation and rebuilding. He cited competitive, safety, modernization, and aesthetic reasons for the closure. Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs, called the ruling a big win. She said the decision protects the park from further harm while the case continues in court. The renovation is part of a wider campaign to alter Washington’s historic parks, including plans for a White House ballroom and a National Garden of American Heroes.