Judge wants stronger commitment that Trump won’t start golf course overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge demanded firmer commitments Thursday from the Trump administration that it would not move forward with plans to renovate a historic Washington, D.C., golf course until the matter is resolved in court, pointing to the president’s comments as an indication that the changes could move forward.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said President Donald Trump’s recent social media statements that major renovations would begin Sept. 1 at the East Potomac Golf Links raised her concerns. She also noted that lesson plans displayed during her visit Sunday made it clear that the administration was more advanced than had been publicly acknowledged.

Reyes made no formal decision on the case Thursday, saying that after speaking to the attorney representing the government, they appeared to be operating within the legal framework of approval.

“I’m just not there yet,” she said without taking action. “I’m not going to assume that the agency will act in bad faith.”

Plaintiffs want administration to halt plans

Reyes gave both sides two weeks to work on language that would give him and the plaintiffs confidence that they wouldn’t suddenly learn in the “middle of the night” that there were bulldozers on the course “cutting down cherry trees.”

The judge’s comments came after a request for a hearing from plaintiffs suing the administration to stop its plans. The court filing says this most recent request for legal intervention stems from Trump’s recent visits to several locations around the capital that he renovated and altered.

Trump, an avid golfer, posted about visiting the course on social media: “When completed, this course will have the capacity to host major golf tournaments including the US Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Championship and other major PGA Tour events. » It is unclear when the course might host major tournaments, as locations are chosen several years in advance of the events.

The visit included detailed plans from course designer Tom Fazio, who accompanied Trump. Reyes said it was hard to believe that someone who makes “millions” designing golf courses would have designed a proposal and escorted Trump “out of the goodness of his heart.”

Michael Robertson, the Justice Department lawyer representing the government, said Fazio was not hired or designated by the Interior Department to design the course and said the process would still be open to other projects. He described the plans that were seen as “conceptual.”

Robertson also repeatedly told Reyes that there was still a long process to follow that would include approvals from various planning organizations, the National Capital Planning Commission and the United States Commission of Fine Arts. Reyes noted that the Planning Commission is filled with Trump allies who have already approved a number of his pet projects, including the White House Ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Golf course lawsuit is latest challenge to Trump’s investment plans

The renovation of the course is just one of the controversies surrounding it. The course was also used as a dumping ground for debris from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, which Trump ordered torn down in preparation for the construction of a ballroom.

Reyes said she needs to see the plaintiffs’ evidence that the debris poses a danger to people and the environment before considering any action, such as ordering the debris’ removal.

The golf course lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal battles aimed at challenging Trump’s extraordinary efforts to leave his mark on public spaces in the nation’s capital.

Reyes referenced those projects several times when she stressed that she wanted to avoid the administration’s habit of moving work forward faster than the court system could stop it. “I don’t want an East Wing destroyed, a reflecting pool destroyed” before I know the work has been approved, she said.

The 106-year-old public course has been involved in the lawsuit since February. The complaint, against the Interior Department, claims that the Trump administration’s reconstruction of East Potomac Park — which includes the East Potomac Golf Course — would violate the congressional law that created the park in 1897.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, the DC Preservation League, requested an emergency shutdown in May due to similar concerns that work should begin immediately on the course.

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