Key facts
- U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes is seeking assurances from the Trump administration regarding renovations at the East Potomac Golf Links.
- Judge Reyes expressed concern over President Donald Trump's social media posts and a recent visit suggesting the project is further along than acknowledged.
- The administration and plaintiffs have two weeks to agree on language assuring the project will not proceed before legal resolution.
- A lawsuit filed by the DC Preservation League alleges the renovation violates the act that created East Potomac Park in 1897.
- An appeals court ruled the Trump administration can reinstall interpretive panels at President George Washington's home site in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Thursday sought stronger assurances from the Trump administration that it would not proceed with renovations at the East Potomac Golf Links until legal challenges are resolved. Reyes expressed concern over recent statements by President Donald Trump on social media indicating major renovations would begin September 1, and noted that plans displayed during his recent visit to the course suggested the project was further along than publicly acknowledged.
The judge stated she was not yet convinced the agency would act in bad faith but gave the government and the plaintiffs, the DC Preservation League, two weeks to work on language that would provide assurances that bulldozers would not suddenly appear at the course. The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration's reconstruction of East Potomac Park violates the congressional act that created the park in 1897.
Plaintiffs are suing to halt the administration's plans, which they say are part of Trump's broader efforts to alter public spaces in the capital. The course has also been used to dump debris from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House. Reyes indicated she would need evidence that the debris poses a danger before considering action on that matter.
Separately, an appeals court ruled Friday that the Trump administration can reinstall its interpretive panels at the site of President George Washington’s home in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The new panels are intended to replace older ones that detailed the lives of nine enslaved individuals who lived in the home. The administration has stated in court filings that its new information also discusses slavery. The City of Philadelphia, which sued over the removal of previous panels, has asked the appeals court to recall its order, arguing that the new panels would undermine years of collaborative effort to tell a suppressed story.