Trump says East Potomac golf work to begin 15 November amid court dispute
Donald Trump said on Sunday that restoration work on Washington DC's East Potomac public golf course will begin on 15 November. In a post on Truth Social, he said the course would reopen in about 15 months after work starts. The Guardian
Trump wrote the facility would be transformed into "one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World". The post included an artist's rendering for the redesign.
The announcement comes as the plan faces a challenge in federal court. US District Judge Ana Reyes ruled earlier this year that the federal government must give notice before any substantive construction work at the site. Last week, she issued an order halting removal of trees there, which she called "inexcusable".
Reyes ordered the government to notify her by 8pm ET on Sunday whether its position had changed from its Friday court filing. That filing said Trump had at most given "preliminary thought" to the rebuilding plan and "there is no final agency action".
In a 9 October filing, the administration had asked Reyes to dismiss the litigation, saying the proposed project remains at an early and conceptual stage. The government removed about 500 trees from the site the day after that filing.
The government said the tree removal would improve safety and restore the original design as part of a 2019 plan predating Trump's ambitions for the course. An earlier court order halted work at the historic course until 26 October pending further court action, according to AP.
The lawsuit was brought in February by the DC Preservation League to halt the administration's takeover of the course. Democracy Forward is representing the plaintiffs. The East Potomac park and golf course is 106 years old.
