Judge blocks Trump closure of 'Trash Island' Washington DC golf course o…
US District Judge Ana Reyes has issued a temporary restraining order halting the controversial closure and redevelopment of Washington DC's historic East Potomac Golf Links.
Washington golfers and visitors woke up with their local course still accessible on Sunday after a federal judge intervened just hours before an intended 15-month shutdown. US District Judge Ana Reyes issued a temporary restraining order halting the closure of East Potomac Golf Links and the surrounding parkland until at least November 28.
The decision freezes the Trump administration's redevelopment plan for the 106-year-old historic public facility located two miles south of the White House. President Donald Trump has championed the project to transform the site along the Potomac River into a championship-level venue, denouncing the current grounds as dilapidated and sharing photographs of the site with the remark They don't call it Trash Island for no reason!
according to the Associated Press and The Times of India.
Legal Battle and the Tree-Cutting Precedent
Today's court-ordered pause follows months of escalating litigation that began in February when the DC Preservation League and two local golfers filed a lawsuit. The plaintiffs argue that the administration's plan would alter the character of the accessible public course and render it unaffordable, claims that Trump has denied.
Relations between the court and the administration deteriorated sharply in October when the National Park Service cut down hundreds of trees over a holiday weekend without notifying Judge Reyes until 15 hours before work started. That unannounced action prompted the judge to issue a temporary tree-cutting halt and sparked a separate judicial inquiry. Judge Reyes announced plans to appoint Jessie Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, as a special master to examine whether Department of the Interior and National Park Service officials, along with Justice Department attorneys, misled the court, acted in bad faith, or violated ethical rules.
A Clash Over Public Parkland and Safety Pretexts
In a 30-page ruling issued on Saturday, Judge Reyes wrote that the administration's justifications for the closures were pretextual and that officials had violated at least two federal laws to meet an arbitrary deadline.
Justice Department lawyer Adam Gustafson argued during a five-hour hearing on Friday that safety factors necessitated closing all of East Potomac Park—which contains three golf courses, a miniature course, and bike riding lanes—and noted that the operating lease with National Links Trust ended on Sunday.
Judge Reyes countered that safety had not been part of the closure discussions for months and that terminating the lease served merely as a manufactured premise to shutter the course. The government proposes to close a historic park, daily enjoyed by Washingtonians of all stripes, indefinitely,
Reyes wrote, adding that the shutdown runs counter to the public interest in utilising national parkland.
Official Reactions and Public Discount Pledges
President Trump slammed the ruling on social media as a highly destructive and political decision,
adding that Reyes doesn't want us to quickly and inexpensively fix up the Course which is, also, very dangerous.
He vowed that his administration would immediately appeal the temporary restraining order on an expedited basis.
To address affordability concerns raised by critics, Trump asserted that local Washington area residents would receive a 50% discount on any and all Rates charged
once the venue is rebuilt. The Justice Department maintained that the court order still allows planning for the golf course development to continue and noted that the National Park Service retains the authority to restrict access where public safety is at risk.
We are grateful that once again, a court has intervened to prevent irreparable harm caused by the Trump-Vance administration's pursuit of another one of the president's vanity projects. The administration's inexplicable drive to destroy East Potomac Park would have taken away a treasured park that could never be replaced.
Catherine Carroll, a senior legal adviser at Democracy Forward, via NPR
The temporary restraining order remains in effect through November 28, 2026, or until the court issues further direction. Observers should look for incoming legal filings from the Justice Department regarding its promised expedited appeal, alongside updates from Judge Reyes and special master Jessie Liu regarding the ongoing ethics inquiry into government representations.
