WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s social media posts about renovating a historic golf course in the nation’s capital put Justice Department lawyers in the uncomfortable position of explaining whether or not the president of the United States should be believed.
U.S. Judge Ana Reyes said Tuesday that the department should clarify “whether there is a plan to close the East Potomac Golf Course on or about November 15, 2026.” She ordered Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. to appear in court Friday or Monday for a status hearing.
Tuesday’s order follows Trump’s social media post Monday evening criticizing Reyes Temporary Injunction work stopped at East Potomac Park.
That injunction, issued Monday, was largely due to Trump’s previous announcements — via social media — that plans were complete for the golf course and that construction would begin next month. Trump said the facility would be closed for 15 months. The next day, he set the timetable for “immediately.”
Reyes said: “Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court to disbelieve the sitting president. Don’t believe it that a cabinet secretary ‘developed’ a federal land project. Don’t believe it that the secretary’s agency will destroy a historic golf course already on the land. Don’t believe it that ‘restoration work’ will begin ‘IMMEDIATELY!’ Don’t believe it that the course ‘will be closed’ for longer of a year. Do not believe what the president has repeatedly said to the American public.
She added: “And yet here we are. »
The current preliminary injunction temporarily prohibits the government from removing or damaging additional trees on the East Potomac Golf Course. The administration must give 10 days’ written notice before making any “irreparable change” to any “form or feature” of the course while the trial is pending.
Some claim the work is causing “irreversible damage”
The plaintiffs contesting the project, The DC Preservation League and two golfers say the work is inflicting irreversible damage. Critics say Trump’s plan make gambling there unaffordable for the general public and destroy other uses of the site. At a hearing, the judge criticized the government after workers cut down at least 400 trees over a holiday weekend, without notice to the plaintiffs. A follow-up audience Oct. 19 featured some surprising exchanges, with Woodward at one point shielding a Justice Department lawyer during questioning when Reyes asked her who she should believe.
“It’s difficult to put my colleague, a DOJ employee not confirmed by the Senate, in a position to contradict the president,” Woodward said.
The course renovation project is part of Trump’s aggressive campaign to leave your personal mark on the historic landscape of Washington.
These plans include the construction of a huge ballroom at the White Housea massive arch and the creation of a National American Heroes Garden in West Potomac Park. The DC Preservation League is part of a coalition of organizations, including the Cultural Landscape Foundation and a DC resident, that have filed lawsuits challenging the plans.
There is several cases where judges have taken action and issued injunctions or restraining orders due to pressure from the Trump administration to begin work despite ongoing lawsuits.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government filed notice that it plans to appeal the temporary injunction to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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