A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from closing East Potomac Park in Washington.
The Judge’s Order
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes issued a 30-page order requiring the golf courses, paths, and picnic areas in the park to remain open and accessible to the public, according to the federal court filing. The ruling stops the closure that President Trump had announced would happen on Sunday.
Judge Reyes noted, as cbsnews.com pointed out, that the administration would be relieved of running the facility while legal proceedings continue.
“the Government reverse-engineers additional justifications for the Park's closure… All while it continues to assert that it will close the Park to follow the President's directive,” Judge Reyes wrote as reported by cbsnews.com.
“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,” Catherine Carroll, Senior Legal Advisor at Democracy Forward, said, cbsnews.com reported.
The Legal Battle
A lawsuit filed in February by a preservation group alongside regional golfers contended that the undertaking risked wiping out a historic layout that provided an affordable option for everyday golfers. Throughout several months, Judge Reyes has presided over contentious courtroom battles regarding the ultimate fate of the local golf property and park grounds.
According to cbsnews.com, tensions rose in the previous month when officials from the National Park Service informed the judge of impending tree removals, subsequently felling over 500 trees across a single weekend. Judge Reyes then issued an order blocking the Trump administration from felling any additional trees.
Mr. Trump initially said work on the East Potomac Links would begin Sept. 1, which accelerated the legal challenge, cnn.com reported. The president announced last month that East Potomac would close Nov. 15 to allow work on a new design by golf course architect Tom Fazio to begin.
During a court hearing on Friday, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said he “would be shocked to learn there is a contract” with Fazio or any affiliated entities finalizing the new course plans and future construction, cbsnews.com reported.
Interior Department Plans to Close East Potomac Park
In a late-month court notification, the Justice Department said that the Interior Department was formulating a strategy to shut down the golf property and temporarily restrict public entry to the entirety of East Potomac Park, as noted by cbsnews.com.
Officials maintained that a full park closure was necessary owing to a degrading sea wall, course safety concerns, and the departure of current facility manager National Links Trust ahead of Nov. 15.
The National Park Service said that no concrete schedule currently exists to repair the barrier, leaving the duration of the East Potomac Park closure uncertain. Court filings reveal that the National Park Service’s proposed golf course blueprint estimates the replacement sea wall will require upwards of $300 million and at least two and a half years for completion.
Friday’s published announcement from the Trump administration indicated that bidding will soon open for a project encompassing 20,700 linear feet of shoreline and sea wall construction.
