DOJ says government developing plan to close D.C. golf course

Washington — The Department of the Interior is moving connected a program to adjacent East Potomac Golf Links successful Washington, D.C., by Nov. 15 aft President Trump doubly said the historical people volition temporarily shutter for a redesign adjacent month, elder Justice Department officials said Wednesday.

In a brief filing with the U.S. territory court, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward acknowledged Mr. Trump's declarations, shared to Truth Social, that East Potomac volition adjacent truthful it tin beryllium overhauled "for Competitive (with different specified projects!), Safety, Modernization, and Aesthetic reasons."

"Accordingly, Interior, acting done counsel, is moving to make a program to instrumentality that absorption and volition supply this Court with notice," Woodward said.

The Trump medication has for months been progressive successful a ineligible combat — brought by a section preservation radical and 2 golfers — implicit the imaginable overhaul of East Potomac, a nationalist people successful the nation's superior that has been unfastened since 1920.

While medication officials person said there is nary finalized proposal to redesign and renovate the course, lone a "possible project," the president announced connected Truth Social earlier this period that the Interior Department, led by Secretary Doug Burgum, and Tom Fazio, a golf-course architect, had "developed a program to physique a World Class Championship Golf Course" astatine East Potomac.

The president said the existent people would adjacent Nov. 15 to let enactment connected the caller plan to begin, and the revamped people would unfastened successful astir 15 months.

Mr. Trump's announcement came aft U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who is overseeing the situation involving East Potomac, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from removing trees astatine the people aft much than 500 were chopped down successful the span of a weekend. 

Reyes connected Monday issued a longer-term order that continued to barroom the authorities from "removing oregon damaging" immoderate trees astatine the tract portion the litigation continues. The challengers had argued that the histrion felling was portion of the Trump administration's program for the caller course, and the justice agreed.

Reyes wrote successful her 70-page determination that "rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a national tribunal not to judge the sitting President," aft Woodward told the justice successful a contentious tribunal proceeding earlier this period that contempt Mr. Trump's posts astir an overhaul of East Potomac, determination was "no program to adjacent the course."

"This started arsenic a lawsuit astir golf. That bully locomotion spoiled," Reyes wrote, adding it "has go overmuch more. It present forces the Court to reconcile assertions by President Donald J. Trump with the sworn grounds of aggregate authorities employees and the statement of elder Department of Justice attorneys."

The Justice Department has since appealed Reyes' decision. The justice said a tribunal proceeding volition beryllium scheduled for Friday oregon Monday to code however the lawsuit should beryllium handled successful coming days.

The plaintiffs successful the suit person not yet brought guardant a question asking Reyes to artifact the people closure and consequent overhaul.