Judge extends court-ordered block on Trump renovation plans for DC’s East Potomac Golf Course

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting Donald Trump’s administration’s renovation plans for the East Potomac Golf Course, granting relief to golfers fighting to preserve the public park.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued the preliminary injunction on Monday, temporarily barring the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the historic course. 

Under the order, the administration must provide 10 days of written notice before making any "irreparable modification" to any "forms or features" of the property while the lawsuit remains active.

What we know:

"The Court earlier stated, ‘I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees.’ The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law," Reyes wrote in her decision.

The legal battle has been underway since February. Reyes noted that she had initially granted the government significant leeway by accepting assertions that no final decisions had been made regarding reconstruction and that environmental reviews were therefore not yet required. While she permitted routine maintenance to continue, the judge emphasized she did not want the court to be blindsided by bulldozers.

Then came Columbus Day weekend, when government contractors cut down more than 400 trees in a single day. Soon after, President Trump posted on Truth Social stating the course would close Nov. 15 for more than a year of reconstruction.

Reyes wrote that the sudden developments forced the court into choosing whether to believe government attorneys, who maintained that a closure was not imminent, or the sitting president.

Groups that filed the lawsuit hailed the preliminary injunction as a win, though the judge acknowledged the federal government could still appeal the ruling.