Judge blocks Trump closure of ‘Trash Island’ Washington DC golf course

A coalition of advocacy and legal groups opposing the closure and renovation said they are “grateful that the court has stopped the government from unlawfully closing East Potomac Park and depriving people of this priceless piece of American history and wonderful recreation space”.

“Our laws prevent this administration from acting without a fair and public process, and today’s order will stop the government from ignoring those laws,” said the coalition, which represents the plaintiffs and includes Democracy Forward and the Democracy Defenders Fund. “We are eager to continue to argue this case in court.”

The legal dispute dates back to February, when the DC Preservation League and others sued over redevelopment plans for the park.

The historic course, which sits two miles (3km) south of the White House, is one of three public courses run by the National Park Service (NPS) in the nation’s capital.

The legal fight then escalated in October when the NPS began to cut down hundreds of trees without notifying Reyes until 15 hours before work was set to begin.

After the trees were cut, Reyes ordered the Trump administration to stop tree removal until at least 26 October and give her three business days’ notice about making any other permanent changes.

Despite the work stoppage, Trump announced that the course would be closed for 15 months from 15 November to accommodate for the renovations. He also shared a rendering of the course redesign.

“The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated and of no further use or effect. It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous and disease-infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

Reyes has since separately opened an inquiry into whether justice department attorneys had “made misrepresentations to the court and otherwise violated ethical rules”.

That included whether giving late notice to the court about the renovation plans had been “done in bad faith”, and whether the attorneys failed to correct previously false statements or withheld information.

She said she would carry out the inquiry with a special master, an independent third party.