WASHINGTON — No more trees can come down at East Potomac Golf Links while a court fight over the public course plays out, a federal judge in the capital ruled Monday in a setback for President Donald Trump’s plan to rebuild it as a championship venue.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes turned an earlier temporary pause into a preliminary injunction. Her 70-page order forbids federal crews from cutting down or harming more trees anywhere on the course, and it requires written notice 10 business days ahead of any permanent change to the features of East Potomac Park.
The lawsuit was brought by the D.C. Preservation League, which argues the government ignored the National Environmental Policy Act by not studying what the overhaul would do to the park along the Potomac River.
Tensions in the case rose after more than 430 trees were cut earlier this month with little warning to the court or the plaintiffs. At a hearing afterward, Reyes told government lawyers they had lost credibility with her.
In the new order, the judge set the president’s own social media posts beside sworn testimony from government employees. Justice Department lawyers had told the court no renovation plan existed, while the president posted that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and an architect had drawn one up and later wrote that work would start right away.
The president responded overnight, calling the ruling unconstitutional, promising an immediate appeal and saying the course will still close Nov. 15 for construction. He has said the rebuilt course would reopen about 15 months after work begins.
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