A federal judge on Thursday pushed back against the Trump administration, demanding stronger assurances that it would hold off on renovating a historic Washington, D.C., golf course while legal proceedings are still underway.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said she grew concerned after President Donald Trump posted on social media that sweeping renovations to the East Potomac Golf Links would kick off on September 1. She also pointed to detailed course redesign plans that were on display when Trump visited the site on Sunday, saying they suggested the project was further along than officials had let on publicly.
Despite her concerns, Reyes stopped short of issuing any formal ruling Thursday. After speaking with the government’s attorney, she said the administration appeared to be operating within the proper legal framework — for now.
“I’m just not there yet,” she said, explaining her decision not to act. “I’m not going to assume the agency is going to act in bad faith.”
Reyes gave both sides two weeks to agree on legal language that would assure her and the plaintiffs that they would not suddenly find out in the “middle of the night” that bulldozers had arrived at the course “chopping down cherry trees.”
The hearing came after the plaintiffs suing to block the administration’s plans requested urgent court intervention. Their filing cited Trump’s recent visits to several Washington landmarks he has been altering or renovating as the reason for their renewed concern.
Trump, who is known for his passion for golf, shared his vision for the course online, writing: “When completed, this Course will have the ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events.” However, major tournament locations are typically selected years in advance, making it unclear when or whether the course could actually host such events.
During Trump’s visit to the course, renowned golf course designer Tom Fazio was present and brought along extensive design plans. Judge Reyes said it was difficult to believe someone who earns “millions” designing golf courses would have created a full proposal and personally accompanied Trump simply “out of the goodness of his heart.”
Michael Robertson, the Justice Department attorney representing the government, pushed back on that characterization. He said Fazio had not been officially hired or designated by the Interior Department and that the process remained open to proposals from other designers. Robertson described the plans that had been seen as merely “conceptual.”
Robertson also repeatedly reminded Reyes that the project still faces a lengthy approval process involving multiple oversight bodies, including the National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. Reyes noted, however, that the Planning Commission is largely made up of Trump allies who have already signed off on several of his projects, including a White House ballroom and renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The golf course renovation is just one piece of a larger controversy surrounding the site. The course has also been used as a disposal area for debris from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, which Trump ordered torn down to make way for a new ballroom.
Reyes said she would need the plaintiffs to provide evidence that the debris poses a genuine threat to people and the environment before she would consider ordering its removal.
This lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal challenges aimed at pushing back on the administration’s aggressive efforts to reshape public spaces across the nation’s capital. Reyes referenced those other projects repeatedly, saying she wanted to prevent the administration from completing work before the courts could weigh in. “I don’t want a destroyed East Wing, a destroyed reflecting pool” before knowing whether the work had been properly approved, she said.
The East Potomac Golf Links is 106 years old and has been at the center of this lawsuit since February. The complaint, filed against the Department of the Interior, argues that the administration’s plans to overhaul East Potomac Park — which includes the golf course — would break the law established by Congress when it created the park in 1897.
The DC Preservation League, which brought the lawsuit, first sought an emergency halt to the project in May, citing fears that construction was about to begin immediately.
