A DC federal judge extended her block Monday on President Trump’s cherished plans to renovate the East Potomac Golf Links near the White House, prompting a furious tirade from the commander in chief.
US District Judge Ana Reyes, a Joe Biden appointee, barred the administration from taking down or otherwise harming additional trees on the 36-hole course and mandated a 10-day notice before pursuing any “irreparable modification.”
“Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting President,” Reyes wrote in a scathing, 70-page ruling. “This started as a case about golf. That good walk spoiled.
Locals have battled against the Trump administration over the president’s plan for the East Potomac Golf Course Links. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
“But it has become much more,” she went on. “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.”
Trump blasted the 10-day notice period as an “unconstitutional request” by Reyes and vowed to challenge her ruling.
“To have to give advanced notices to a judge who has no expertise in Golf, Architecture, Landscaping, Construction, or anything else having to do with building such a World Class Project, is not fair, appropriate, or Constitutional,” he fumed on Truth Social as he flew back to Washington from a pre-midterm campaign rally in Mississippi.
“In its current form, the Course is extremely dangerous to play, in that the narrow and nondescript fairways are far too close together, leading to a constant barrage of people being hit with wayward shots.”
President Trump has publicly bragged about winning several tournaments on his golf courses. SWNS.com
The president, who has publicly crowed about winning multiple tournaments at his own golf clubs, further insisted that Reyes “has absolutely no right to hold up this very important and beautiful Project.”
On Oct. 18, Trump unveiled his favored design for East Potomac, which sits on a man-made peninsula south of the Jefferson Memorial, and declared that it would be shut down for 15 months beginning Nov. 15 to transform it into “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”
The sidewalk around the East Potomac Park, which has been prone to flooding, has been damaged in many sections. Ryan King
The president’s preferred design, by noted golf course architect Tom Fazio, would create a single 18-hole championship layout.
Critically, the proposed changes appear to eliminate a network of trails through the property, which are frequented by runners and bikers and have been used as part of the course for the Marine Corps Marathon.
The Fazio design has triggered litigation from the DC Preservation League, among other plaintiffs.
The president has put a heavy focus on renovation projects during his second term in the White House. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
In May, Reyes ordered the Trump administration to give notice of plans to cut down more than 10 trees. On Oct. 9, the White House notified the court of plans to cut “up to 529 trees.”
Following an emergency hearing, Reyes ordered work on the course to cease until Monday while she weighed next steps.
“The Court earlier stated, ‘I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees.’ The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law,” Reyes added in her Monday order, referring to the classic character created by children’s author Dr. Seuss.