WASHINGTON (TNND) — A federal judge on Monday allowed the Trump administration to close a golf course amid renovations on the White House, referencing the “Parks and Recreation” sitcom when she said, “I’m no Amy Poehler.”
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, declined to immediately block the Trump administration from closing East Potomac Golf Links, saying reports about renovation plans aren’t enough for her to intervene, The Hill reported.
“I don’t want to be the overseer of Parks and Rec. I’m no Amy Poehler,” Reyes said, naming the actress who portrayed the character Leslie Knope in the TV show.
For months, construction crews have dumped debris from the White House’s East Wing demolition on the golf course.
The DC Preservation League and two golfers originally sued in February, but they renewed their efforts over the weekend after The Washington Post and NOTUS reports indicated that deferred maintenance and tree-clearing work were set to begin this week ahead of renovations.
Will Bardwell, a Democracy Forward Foundation attorney who represents one of the plaintiffs, told Reyes that the government would “use this as an excuse to begin hardcore construction under the guise of taking down a dying tree.”
“We don’t want what happened at the Kennedy Center to happen here,” Bardwell said.
Kevin Griess, who helps manage National Park Service sites in Washington, D.C., pushed back, saying that officials were planning to tag dying trees and examine other conditions at the golf course, but there were no plans to raze it.
“Right now, business as usual,” Griess said.
Reyes ordered the government to notify the DC Preservation League if they intend to cut down more than 10 trees or if plans change.
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If “bulldozers show up, we’re not doing a whole briefing schedule. I’m going to make people show up with documents pretty quickly,” Reyes said.