The Trump administration confirmed to a federal judge Wednesday that the government is “working to develop a plan” to close East Potomac Golf Links for redevelopment by Nov. 15.
In a court filing, the government said the president twice directed the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to close the course that day — a change from what a Justice Department lawyer told the court earlier this month.
The government also said it will provide 10 business days’ notice of the park’s closure, in response to a Monday ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes that also ordered an extension of the ban against tree removals at the public golf course.
The Justice Department appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, without explaining why the court should overturn it.
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In her ruling Monday, Reyes requested a response from the Trump administration about whether any plan existed to shutter East Potomac Golf Links on or around Nov. 15. President Donald Trump had reiterated on social media following the injunction ruling that the golf course would close on that day for a 15-month period to turn it into a “world class championship” facility.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward told Reyes in a hearing on Oct. 19 that there were no plans to close the course by the date the president stated, the day after Trump first posted on Truth Social that restoration would begin on Nov. 15, along with a rendering of what the new course would look like.
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