Minutes after a federal judge told the administration it cannot unilaterally move ahead with plans to redesign the golf course on the National Mall, President Trump said he’s moving forward anyway.
Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, issued a preliminary injunction late Monday halting any more felling of trees on the East Potomac Park course, blocking any closure of the course and ordering the government to give at least 10 days’ notice before starting any work toward a broader renovation.
She said that should give the D.C. Preservation League, which sued to stop the president’s plans for the course, a chance to come to court and stop it — if warranted.
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Mr. Trump then said he will appeal, and said he’s not backing down from his plans. He said he’s full speed ahead on a plan to close the course for construction on Nov. 15.
“The Development of this World Championship Public Facility must begin, immediately, if it is to be completed in a timely and seasonal manner,” he said on social media.
“To have to give advanced notices to a judge who has no expertise in Golf, Architecture, Landscaping, Construction, or anything else having to do with building such a World Class Project, is not fair, appropriate, or Constitutional,” he said.
The case has become a curious constitutional flashpoint, though that’s perhaps not surprising given Mr. Trump’s interests in golf and real estate development.
He has complained that the historic century-old course, owned by the National Park Service and open to the public, has become run-down and isn’t worthy of its status on the National Mall.
Opponents fear Mr. Trump’s vision for renovations and say they worry the price for playing a round will increase so much that it will be beyond the reach of lower-income residents.
Judge Reyes, while admitting a lack of golf knowledge, sided with the opponents on those fears.
Park service officials had testified that there was no firm plan to close the course and Mr. Trump’s social media ruminations weren’t actionable.
Judge Reyes disagreed, saying she believed the president over his underlings.
“There is a plan to close the course soon even if the implementation date remains in some flux,” she concluded in her ruling Monday.
Judge Reyes went on to say those plans likely violate the National Environmental Policy Act, so she issued a preliminary injunction barring more tree-cutting, and any future redesign work without 10 days’ notice.
“The events surrounding this case have become extraordinary. The legal result is not. A lower federal court enjoining an administrative agency from proceeding as the president wants,” she wrote.
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