U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes temporarily blocked the Trump administration from closing East Potomac Park on Sunday, ordering a halt to redevelopment plans for the historic Washington public golf course.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes pauses any shutdown of East Potomac Park and the adjacent golf links through November 28, 2026. President Donald Trump had announced that the municipal facility would close on November 15 to clear the way for a 15-month project to build a championship-level venue designed by architect Tom Fazio.
Reyes wrote in her 30-page decision that the administration’s stated reasons for the closure were pretextual. She said that the government violated federal laws to meet an arbitrary deadline.
A federal judge again expressed skepticism over President Trump’s plans to close East Potomac Park as soon as this weekend, part of his plan to expand and renovate a golf course at the expense of other uses. By @D_Hawk and @Justice_Covert_: https://t.co/eO1I6WlN8e
The Government proposes to close a historic park, daily enjoyed by Washingtonians of all stripes, indefinitely.
Judge Ana Reyes, U.S. District Judge
The litigation began in February when the DC Preservation League and two local golfers sued the Interior Department and the National Park Service. Plaintiffs argued that the project would destroy a historic, affordable recreational asset.
Justice Department lawyers argued that the park required closure due to safety concerns, including a deteriorated seawall and the ending of the course operator National Links Trust’s lease. Justice Department lawyer Adam Gustafson represented the administration during the proceedings. National Links Trust had continued to operate the facilities on a temporary holdover basis, but on October 28, 2026, the National Park Service entered into a new lease with the trust solely for the Rock Creek Golf Course and the Langston Golf Course.
Under that agreement, operations at the East Potomac Golf Course were scheduled to cease by November 15, 2026. A condition assessment conducted by the park service in May recorded 110 deficiencies at the East Potomac course, with 69 categorized as critical or urgent.
The facility’s historic clubhouse has documented basement wall cracks exceeding one inch, and the 2019 Historic Structure Report noted a foundation corner in poor condition as a critical concern, alongside a compromised seawall experiencing erosion, depressions, and damaged sidewalks.
From old pal @RickMaese, here's the definitive tale of how a popular muni in the nation's capital became part of the president's plan to transform our city. East Potomac might close this weekend. What will it be like when — if — it reopens? https://t.co/7lA1MM6l7o
“This closure would irreparably harm Plaintiffs, who use the Park regularly for recreational activities,” Reyes wrote, “cannot use the absence of golf operations as a reason to exclude the public,” Reyes added, noting that the government reverse-engineered justifications for the shutdown to follow the president's directives.
During a six-hour hearing on Friday, Reyes announced her intention to proceed with an inquiry into the conduct of Justice Department lawyers. She identified Jessie K. Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who served from 2017 to 2020, as a potential special master to examine whether government attorneys complied with ethical obligations regarding court-ordered notice requirements.
NEW: East Potomac golf course and its surrounding park will not close Sunday as demanded by President Trump. A federal judge ruled the National Park Service sidestepped legal requirements to satisfy Trump's demand. w/ @joshgerstein https://t.co/j7jub0Uj3G pic.twitter.com/8wvjF0wHsR
The inquiry will also examine whether government lawyers directed officials—including acting National Park Service director Jessica Bowron and National Mall and Memorial Parks superintendent Kevin Griess—to omit or include specific information in declarations regarding the golf course work.
He defended the redevelopment as an effort to establish a World Championship Public Facility and promised local residents a 50 percent discount on rates.
“We are grateful that once again, a court has intervened to prevent irreparable harm caused by the Trump-Vance administration’s pursuit of another one of the president’s vanity projects,” said Catherine Carroll, a senior legal advisor at Democracy Forward.
BREAKING: Judge Reyes has blocked the Trump administration from closing East Potomac Park and East Potomac golf course but does not require active management of either. https://t.co/LIZ6LCK22Y pic.twitter.com/d1Px3eNlHH
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