Key facts
- US District Judge Ana Reyes ordered East Potomac Park to stay open, writing that the government cannot exclude the public.
A federal judge ordered on Saturday that East Potomac Park, a riverside public park in Washington, remain open for now rather than close for renovations sought by President Donald Trump, Reuters reported on November 15.
In a 30-page decision, US District Judge Ana Reyes temporarily blocked the federal government from moving forward with a plan that would have closed the area the following day. Reyes ruled that the administration's stated reasons for closing the park were "pretextual" and that the government violated at least two federal laws "to meet an arbitrary deadline."