Follow-Up: Federal Judge Halts East Potomac Golf Course Closure With Temporary Restraining Order Through Nov. 28

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes on November 14 issued a temporary restraining order barring the federal government from closing East Potomac Golf Links in Washington's East Potomac Park as planned on November 15. The 106-year-old public course had been due to close on Sunday for 15 months to be redeveloped into a championship-level venue; the order delays any closure by at least two weeks and requires the park and course to remain open during the daily hours they operated on November 14.

In the order, Reyes wrote that the government is enjoined from closing East Potomac Park and the East Potomac Golf Course during the daily hours in which they were open as of November 14, 2026. The order does not require the government to undertake any active management of either site, and the government remains free to conduct repairs on any part of the park and course, subject to the notice required by the existing preliminary injunction. The order remains in effect through November 28, 2026, or further order from the court, whichever comes first.

The lawsuit was filed in February by the DC Preservation League and two local golfers. The plaintiffs argue that the redevelopment would change the character of the accessible public course and make it unaffordable, and that closing the course and launching work on the project would irreparably injure them and the public interest. President Donald Trump denies that claim. Reyes noted that Trump's social media posts last month announcing the closure date and linking it to the renovation weighed against the government: the posts indicate that the plan is final and that the National Park Service will close the park to implement it, both points favoring another temporary restraining order. On October 26, Trump posted that the course would close as scheduled on November 15 to be renovated and rebuilt into a world championship public facility.

The Justice Department said in a statement Saturday that the judge acknowledged the National Park Service can limit access to its facilities where the public is at risk of harm, that nothing in the order precludes planning for a world-class golf course from continuing, and that the department will always vociferously defend the administration's agenda in court. Catherine Carroll, a senior legal adviser at Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs, praised the ruling, saying the court had once again intervened to prevent irreparable harm to a treasured park.

The order followed a five-hour hearing on Friday. Justice Department lawyer Adam Gustafson argued that the entire East Potomac Park, which includes three golf courses, a miniature course and bike lanes, was being closed because of safety factors, and noted that the government's lease with the current operator, National Links Trust, was ending Sunday. Reyes pointed out that safety had not been part of the discussion over the closure for months and that the expiring lease felt more like a premise for the closure than its cause. The park sits along the Potomac River about 2 miles from the White House. At the hearing Reyes also took up a second matter: she plans to name Jessie Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to examine whether Interior Department and National Park Service officials and Justice Department attorneys violated ethics rules or misled her during the case.

Before the order, Trump lashed out in a social media post Saturday, contending that Reyes did not want the government to quickly and inexpensively fix up the course, and saying Washington-area residents would receive a 50% discount on all rates charged. The East Potomac redevelopment is one of several projects Trump has championed to remake the nation's capital, alongside a large memorial arch, a White House ballroom and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Source: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：华盛顿 East Potomac Golf Links 的 Blue Course 球道（资料图），这座有106年历史的公共球场原定11月15日关闭改建。Tim Evanson 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Blue Course fairway at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C. (file photo). The 106-year-old public course had been set to close on November 15 for redevelopment. By Tim Evanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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