A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's closure of East Potomac Park and its golf course in Washington, D.C., a historic public course that President Trump wants to overhaul into a new "world class championship" venue. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a temporary restraining order before the course was set to close Sunday, Nov. 15, for about 15 months of work.

The legal challenge was brought by the DC Preservation League and two local golfers, who argued that the closure was part of a plan to redesign the course with a championship-style venue designed by golf course architect Tom Fazio, and that the change would alter the character of the accessible course and make it unaffordable. Reyes said the administration's justifications for the closure appeared pretextual, writing that the government "reverse-engineers additional justifications for the Park's closure" while still asserting it would close the park to follow the president's directive. Her order ruled the government cannot close the park or course during daily hours they were open as of Nov. 14, though it does not require the government to actively manage either. The order remains in effect through Nov. 28, 2026, or until further order from the court.S1S2

The dispute followed Trump's announcement on social media last month that East Potomac would close Nov. 15 to renovate and rebuild the course. Reyes earlier barred the National Park Service from felling additional trees after it removed trees on the course over a weekend, and required the Justice Department to give notice of future actions at the course. In a hearing Friday, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said he "would be shocked to learn there is a contract" with Fazio or affiliated entities finalizing the new course plans and construction.S1

The Justice Department said the court acknowledged the National Park Service can limit access where the public is at risk of harm, and that nothing in the order prevents planning for a world-class golf course from continuing. Catherine Carroll, senior legal adviser at Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling as another court intervention against what she called a vanity project, saying the effort to destroy East Potomac Park would have taken away a park that could never be replaced.S1S2