Donald Trump has another renovation project he desperately wants to push forward. But this time, a federal judge has stepped in and put the brakes on it.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered a temporary halt to work at Washington, D.C.’s historic East Potomac Park and Golf Links, blocking the president’s plan to shut down the public golf course and transform it into what he calls a “world-class” venue.
The order came just one day before the course was scheduled to close for 15 months so the administration could begin its redevelopment plans.
And the timing is especially notable: Trump had spent Saturday flooding his Truth Social account with dozens of photos of the property, apparently making his case for why it needs a major overhaul.
In a lengthy post, Trump referred to the area as “Trash Island,” declaring it the “Worst Golf Course anywhere in the World” and promising that the Interior Department would turn it into the “Best Golf Course anywhere in the World.”
He included 44 photos showing what appeared to be flooding, damaged fences and scattered debris. Some images were duplicates.
But while Trump was busy showcasing the course’s alleged problems, the legal challenge to his renovation plans was moving in the opposite direction.
The lawsuit was filed in February by the DC Preservation League and two local golfers, who argue that Trump’s plans would fundamentally change the character of the accessible public course and potentially make it unaffordable for ordinary Washington residents.
The plaintiffs had asked Reyes to stop the closure, warning that shutting down the park and beginning construction would “irreparably injure plaintiffs and the public interest.”
Reyes agreed to temporarily halt the work after a lengthy hearing Friday, during which she repeatedly questioned the administration’s explanation for closing the property.
The Justice Department argued that the entire East Potomac Park was being closed because of safety concerns. The area includes three golf courses, a miniature golf course, bike paths and other recreational facilities. Government lawyers also pointed to the expiration of the lease held by the nonprofit National Links Trust, which currently operates the golf course.
But Reyes wasn’t buying the explanation so easily.
She noted that safety concerns had not been a central part of the administration’s argument for months. She also questioned whether the lease expiration was being used as a convenient justification for a closure that Trump had repeatedly demanded as part of his redevelopment plans.
In other words, the administration’s explanation wasn’t lining up with the president’s own public statements.
Trump, meanwhile, wasn’t exactly pleased with the judge’s intervention.
Before the ruling, he attacked Reyes on Truth Social, accusing her of refusing to let his administration “quickly and inexpensively fix up” the golf course. He also claimed the property was dangerous and promised Washington-area residents a 50% discount on rates once the renovation was complete.
Trump insisted the project would become “something very special” and predicted that Reyes would eventually take pride in seeing the finished result.
That confidence may be premature.
The East Potomac Park dispute is part of a much broader effort by Trump to remake Washington, D.C., through a series of high-profile projects. His ambitions include a massive White House ballroom, a proposed memorial arch and sweeping changes to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
And the golf course isn’t the first project to run into legal trouble.
A separate federal judge recently ordered a 14-day pause on work related to Trump’s proposed memorial arch, just hours before construction was expected to begin.
Reyes has also grown increasingly frustrated with the administration’s handling of the golf course project. In October, she temporarily blocked additional tree cutting after hundreds of trees had already been felled at the site.
Government officials argued the tree removal was part of a previous renovation plan. But Reyes confronted the administration over what she viewed as misleading actions surrounding the project’s intentions.
The dispute has become so contentious that the Justice Department has asked Reyes to remove herself from the case, accusing her of “egregious behavior” and questioning her impartiality. She has declined to recuse herself.
During Friday’s hearing, Reyes also addressed another troubling issue: whether government officials or Justice Department attorneys had misled her or violated ethical obligations during the case.
She announced plans to appoint former D.C. U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu to examine the conduct of officials from the Interior Department, the National Park Service and the Justice Department.
The government’s lawyer urged her to reconsider, arguing that an outside investigation would cast an unnecessary cloud over the people involved.
Reyes acknowledged she didn’t want to take that step, but said she had an ethical obligation to examine the matter.
“I think there is enough smoke that someone needs to consider whether there’s been fire,” she said.
For now, Trump’s plans for East Potomac Park are on hold. And no matter how many photos the president posts or how many times he declares the course needs to be transformed, the administration will have to deal with the legal challenges before moving ahead.
