A federal judge on Oct. 26 extended an order barring the Trump administration from removing or damaging any additional trees at East Potomac Golf Course in Washington.
In a 70-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said the administration must provide 10 business days’ advance written notice before making “any irreparable modification to any forms or features” of East Potomac Park while the litigation is still ongoing.
“The government felled hundreds of trees from East Potomac Golf Course without real notice even though it knew of the scheduled removal at least a week prior,” the judge said. “All this is concerning.”
The judge had temporarily blocked tree cutting at the site on Oct. 12 after hundreds were allegedly felled at the course.
Reyes cited President Donald Trump’s Oct. 18 Truth Social announcement that the project would begin on Nov. 15 and require the golf course to close for 15 months for redevelopment.
Trump said the following day that renovation work would start immediately, despite the judge’s order temporarily blocking tree cutting at the site.
The Interior Department’s deputy chief of staff later testified during an Oct. 19 hearing that he was unaware of any plans to close the golf course, according to the ruling.
“This started as a case about golf. That good walk spoiled. But it has become much more,” the judge wrote.
“It now forces the Court to reconcile assertions by President Donald J. Trump with the sworn testimony of multiple government employees and the argument of senior Department of Justice attorneys. This morass of different accounts concerns the future of the East Potomac Golf Course, a historic landmark.”
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the DC Preservation League and two local residents, who argued that the renovation plans would cause irreversible damage and violate the congressional act establishing the park where the course is located.
The plaintiffs welcomed the judge’s ruling in an Oct. 26 statement, saying it would prevent the administration from making further irreversible changes to the park.
“East Potomac Park is an important part of our history, and our laws prevent this administration from depriving the public of this space without a fair and public process. We are eager to continue to argue this case in court,” they said in a statement issued by Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs.
Trump was asked about the case late Monday night as he returned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after a rally in Mississippi and said work on the golf course will proceed as planned.
“It has the go-ahead. The judge feels that she would like to approve it as it goes along,” he told reporters.
Plans shared in May for the redesigned course show a par-72, 7,660-yard 18-hole layout with new water features. The facility also appeared to include a practice area and a nine-hole short course.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Interior Department for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Jill McLaughlin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
