A federal judge on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from closing a historic public golf course and surrounding parkland in Washington, D.C., hours before the shutdown was set to begin.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote that the National Park Service’s explanation for closing East Potomac Park was “incomplete, if not misleading by omission” because it left out Trump’s directive to close the park.
“It is also transparently pretextual,” she added in the ruling.
The agency cited safety concerns and the impending departure of the course operator, according to an Associated Press report. But Reyes found that the Park Service itself had ended the operator’s lease to help carry out Trump’s directive — then cited the vacancy as a reason to close the park.
“It now cites the lack of an operator as of that date to claim closure is necessary,” Reyes wrote in the 30-page order. “But that reverses cause and effect—by design.”
Before Reyes issued the order, Trump defended the redevelopment in a Truth Social post, where he also lashed out at the judge.
“Unfortunately, Judge Ana Reyes doesn’t want us to quickly and inexpensively fix up the Course which is, also, very dangerous — The Fairways are far too close together,” he wrote Saturday, referring to the East Potomac Golf Links as “Trash Island.”
Politico’s Kyle Cheney broke the development on social media.
“East Potomac Park must remain open to the public — and so must the golf course,” he wrote. “But the court is not ordering the government to maintain golf operations. That’s a Trump administration decision, she says.”
The order runs through Nov. 28 unless the court acts soon.
BOTTOM LINE: East Potomac Park must remain open to the public — and so must the golf course. But the court is not ordering the government to maintain golf operations. That’s a Trump administration decision, she says. https://t.co/LIZ6LCK22Y https://t.co/H4X2JJFTOW — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 15, 2026
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