Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday that “restoration work will begin” on 15 November to a historic public golf course in Washington DC despite a federal judge’s court order to pause his plans over environmental and historic preservation concerns.
US district judge Ana Reyes had ruled earlier this year that the federal government must give notice before any substantive construction work on the East Potomac golf course could proceed, and last week issued an order halting the removal of trees at the site, which she called “inexcusable”.
Trump said Sunday in a post on Truth Social that work on the golf course would begin on 15 November and that it would reopen in about 15 months. He wrote that the facility would be transformed into “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World”. Trump did not acknowledge the legal fight in his post, which included an artist’s rendering for the course redesign.
The judge in the case took notice of Trump’s online message and ordered the government to notify her by 8pm ET on Sunday whether its position had changed from a court filing Friday that said “at most” Trump has given “preliminary thought” to the rebuilding plan and “there is no final agency action”.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump’s announcement on Sunday would conflict with Reyes’s directives.
The renovation is among a number of projects Trump was pursuing to reshape the White House and other Washington landmarks. Many of his projects, including plans for a huge ballroom at the White House, the installation of his own name on the Kennedy Center and construction of a massive arch, have been challenged in courts.
The 106-year-old park and golf course, alone, has been the subject of many emergency hearings as the president has sought to renovate it. While it has been open to Washingtonians of all income levels, opponents of Trump’s plans to turn it into a high-end course have argued it will alter the character of the space and make it less affordable to people.
Democracy Forward, which is representing the plaintiffs challenging his renovation plans for the golf course, responded to Trump by saying that the course is part of a national park and recreation facility that is meant for everyone to enjoy. “Our litigation is intended to protect this community jewel for the people and communities it serves and we will continue to work with our plaintiffs to defend it from unlawful and harmful intrusion,” Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of the group, said in a statement.
The DC Preservation League brought a lawsuit in February to halt the administration’s takeover of the golf course, alleging that it would violate environmental laws and “irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history”.
In an 9 October court filing, the Trump administration had asked Reyes to dismiss the litigation, saying it was premature because the “proposed project remains at an early and conceptual stage”.
The following day, however, the government removed about 500 trees from the site, which it said would improve safety at the park and restore its original design, and was part of a 2019 plan that predates Trump’s ambitions for the course. Reyes ordered a halt to the removals.
Reyes has also ordered key members of the Republican administration to testify on the recent tree-cutting and whether those actions are tied to the president’s plans for the historical public links.
On Friday, the government filed a motion to disqualify Reyes and move the case to another district judge, saying her actions had shown “deep-seated and unequivocal antipathy” and “open hostility” toward the Trump administration, according to court records. The plaintiffs in the case oppose the motion.
Reyes was appointed to the federal bench by Joe Biden in 2023.