Judge Smashes Trump’s Golf Course Dream Into the Rough
A last-minute restraining order will stop the president from closing a well-loved public park in Washington, D.C.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Donald Trump, 80, has once again been forced to pause plans to remake the nation’s capital in his image.
In a ruling on Saturday, Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court, a Biden appointee, issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the Department of the Interior from closing the East Potomac Golf Links from Sunday, Nov. 15, as part of a Trump-inspired upgrade.
Reyes ruled that no work could proceed and that the park could not be closed before Nov. 28.
In her 30-page decision, Reyes said the Trump administration’s justifications for the proposed course closures were excuses, and that the government had “likely violated at least the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act” in an attempt to “meet an arbitrary deadline.”
Ana Reyes testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2022.
Sarah Silbiger/REUTERS
“The Government proposes to close a historic park, daily enjoyed by Washingtonians of all stripes, indefinitely,” Reyes said.
In a strongly worded ruling, Reyes said the closure “runs counter to the public interest in utilizing national parkland” and said the government had not “plausibly identified any harm it would suffer from a temporary restraining order that preserves the status quo pending further proceedings.”
In the ruling, Reyes highlighted the constantly changing story of DOI officials about the golf course and why it needed upgrading.
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The DOI, she said, “has maintained for months, and—all record evidence to the contrary—continues to maintain, that no final plan to redesign the Course exists. It cannot well admit that it proposes to close the Park solely to begin work on a redesign for which, it insists, no final plan exists.”
In February, the D.C. Preservation League moved to stop changes to the 106-year-old park after Trump said he wanted to remodel it.
Golfers walk past logs and debris at East Potomac Golf Links on Oct. 18, 2026. The National Park Service confirmed that it had marked over 500 trees for removal as part of the Trump administration’s plans to remodel the golf course.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Despite cutting down trees, the DOI maintained for months that there were no plans for a new golf course.
Trump, on the other hand, has been seen touring the course and has talked at length about how he plans to overhaul it.
He has dubbed it “Trash Island.”
A photo of short-lived press secretary Katie Zacharia with Trump behind the Resolute Desk revealed what appeared to be a plan for the park, despite the denials.
Donald Trump’s golf course plans, whose existence the DOI long denied.
Donald Trump/Truth Social
In October, Trump made two Truth Social posts about his plans for the park, including a renovation schedule and a draft of the plans.
Reyes found that the DOI was acting to comply with Trump’s demands and that the reasoning provided to the court for the closure was “misleading by omission.”
On Saturday, while waiting for the ruling to be handed down, Trump again went on a Truth Social posting spree about the golf course.
He raged against Reyes in a 319-word rant about his tireless efforts to reshape D.C. in his own image.
Her order will remain in force until Nov. 28.
The White House and the DOI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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