A U.S. federal judge has extended a court order blocking the Trump administration from moving forward with renovation and redevelopment plans at the century-old East Potomac Golf Course in Washington, D.C.
The legal scrutiny intensified after administration-backed workers abruptly cut down at least 400 trees on the course with minimal notice, sparking sharp criticism from the bench regarding the sudden environmental alterations.
The renovation, at the center of a lawsuit over environmental and historic preservation concerns, is one of the projects Trump is pursuing to reshape landmarks in the US capital.
“The court still does not speak for the trees,” US District Judge Ana Reyes said in her order, filed in the district court for the District of Columbia, adding, “It speaks only for the rule of law.”
The preliminary injunction pauses ongoing construction and specifically prohibits the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the property while a lawsuit challenging the project proceeds, addressing concerns raised by preservation and environmental plaintiffs.
The order barred the government from “removing or damaging additional trees” on the course.
It also ordered the government to provide 10 business days of written advance notice before it makes any “irreparable modification” at the park, pending the suit outcome.
Trump said in an online post late on Monday the government would appeal the decision and that his administration would close “the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on November 15th in order to renovate and rebuild.”
Two weeks earlier, Reyes faulted the conduct of Justice Department lawyers in the lawsuit seeking to halt the Trump administration’s takeover of the historic golf course.
Last week Trump said his administration would begin renovation work immediately, despite the judge’s order that work could not proceed without prior notice to the court.
The DC Preservation League sued in February to halt the takeover, on the grounds that it would violate environmental laws and “irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history.”
