HIGHLIGHTS:
- President Trump announced Sunday that renovation work on East Potomac Golf Course will begin November 15, lasting 15 months.
- The announcement directly conflicts with a federal judge’s order last week halting tree removal and requiring notice before major construction.
- Judge Ana Reyes ordered the government to clarify by Sunday evening whether its position had changed from a Friday filing claiming no “final agency action” existed.
- The administration has separately moved to disqualify the judge, accusing her of bias against the president.
President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that his administration will begin a sweeping renovation of Washington’s historic East Potomac Golf Course on November 15, despite a federal judge’s order pausing major work at the site amid an ongoing legal battle over environmental and preservation concerns.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the 106-year-old public course near the White House would close for approximately 15 months and be transformed into “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World”. He included an architectural rendering of the redesign and did not acknowledge the pending litigation.
The announcement came just days after U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered a halt to tree removal at the course until at least October 26, after the government cut down hundreds of trees over a holiday weekend without notifying the court or plaintiffs. Reyes had earlier ruled that the government must provide notice before any substantive construction could proceed.
After Trump’s post appeared, Reyes ordered the administration to clarify by 8 p.m. Sunday whether it still maintained the position from a Friday court filing that “at most” the president had given “preliminary thought” to the project and that “there is no final agency action”. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward responded in a filing that redesigning a golf course does not constitute “agency action,” comparing it to decisions about museum exhibits or lawn mowing.
The DC Preservation League, which sued in February to block the administration’s takeover of the course, argues the plan would violate environmental laws and “irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history” . Democracy Forward, representing plaintiffs in the case, said the course is “part of a national park and recreation facility that is meant for everyone to enjoy”.
The administration has also filed a motion to disqualify Reyes from the case, accusing her of “deep-seated and unequivocal antipathy” toward the president. A court hearing is scheduled for Monday.
