Courts & Justice · Report · File No. 261029-095
Judge orders new hearing as Justice Department confirms East Potomac golf course will close Nov. 15
The Justice Department told a federal court the park south of Buckeye Drive will shut down Nov. 15 for a Tom Fazio redesign, and Judge Ana Reyes wants senior officials in court Friday to explain it. The case tests whether the president's public promises can be squared with what his lawyers told a judge.
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The Justice Department filed notice Wednesday night that President Donald Trump's announcements about the East Potomac Golf Course are accurate: a renovation plan exists, and the park will close 1. The filing says the National Park Service will submit a rendering by architect Tom Fazio for a "World Class, championship-level golf course" to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 1.
The park south of Buckeye Drive, including the golf course, will close Nov. 15, 2026, "consistent with the President's directive," the filing said 1. The planning commission will take up the plan at its Dec. 3 meeting 1. The National Park Service also signed a new lease under which the National Links Trust stops operating the course on or before Nov. 15 but keeps running two other public courses 1.
A judge wants answers in person
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction Oct. 26 that temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging more trees at the course and requires 10 days' written notice before any "irreparable modification" while the lawsuit proceeds 1. She has ordered Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. to appear Friday, along with at least one person from the Interior Department's Office of the Solicitor with prior experience on the case 1.
The dispute centers on a gap between the president's public statements and sworn testimony. Officials from the National Park Service, Interior Department and Justice Department testified they had no knowledge of the plans Trump was announcing, according to the court hearings and Reyes's injunction 1. In her 70-page opinion, Reyes wrote: "Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president" 2.
From Channel GOPTrump on the Alaska ballot and the DOJ suitDonald Trump · 225 plays · captioned, with the source named
Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president
The plaintiffs, the DC Preservation League and two golfers, say the work is inflicting irreversible damage and that the plan will make playing there unaffordable for the general public and destroy the site's other uses 1. The government cut down 430 trees on the course with less than a day's notice, NPR reported 2. Reyes called the government's explanation "pretextual" 2.
What happens next
Friday's status hearing is the next step, with the government's appeal of the injunction also pending 2. Trump said the Interior Department will appeal and that the "judge has absolutely no right to hold up this very important and beautiful Project" 2. In a Wednesday night post, he called the course "highly dangerous, dilapidated, and absolutely disgusting" and said Reyes would be held responsible for anyone injured or killed there 1.
That matters because the case now turns on whether a president's public promises bind his lawyers in court. Reyes put it this way: "The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law" 2. With the midterm election five days away, the ruling keeps a spotlight on how the administration has handled public land in the nation's capital 1.
The Record
- Trump posted on social media that the park would close Nov. 15 for 15 months of renovation 1.
- Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction barring further tree removal or damage at the course and requiring 10 days' notice before irreversible changes 1.
- The Justice Department filed notice that the renovation plan exists and the park will close Nov. 15 1.
- The National Park Service is to submit the Tom Fazio rendering to the National Capital Planning Commission, and Woodward is ordered to appear in court 1.
Sources
- ABC News, “Justice Department announces Trump plans for golf course are in the works, course will close Nov. 15” (2026-10-29). abcnews.com/US/wireStory/justice-department-announces-trump-
- NPR, “Judge blocks Trump's East Potomac golf course renovations : NPR” (2026-10-27). npr.org/2026/10/27/nx-s1-6019192/east-potomac-golf-course-re
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes extended her block on cutting trees at the public course and required 10 days' notice before major changes. The government says it will appeal, and President Trump says the course will close Nov. 15 anyway.
Judge extends block on Trump's plan to remake East Potomac public golf course
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction barring more tree removal at the 106-year-old D.C. course while a lawsuit goes on. The ruling tests how far the administration can go with public land.
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