A United States federal judge, Ana Reyes, has extended an order restricting President Donald Trump’s administration from carrying out major redevelopment work on a golf course at a Washington park.
Reyes questioned the administration’s justification for shutting down the entire park over safety concerns, pointing out that about 30,000 participants in the Marine Corps Marathon were allowed to run through the area last month without similar warnings.
“It cannot be that NPS permitted thirty thousand runners to risk – as Government counsel described it – ‘life and limb’ by running on a road near the seawall,” Reyes said.
She acknowledged that the seawall was deteriorating and required repairs but challenged the decision to close the entire park for what could be three and a half years instead of restricting access to specific areas considered dangerous.
Under the judge’s latest order, the administration can only close sections of the park for regular maintenance or emergency repairs. Such work had previously been allowed to continue while the legal dispute was ongoing.
The Justice Department welcomed that aspect of the ruling, saying the National Park Service retained the authority to restrict public access to areas where safety could be threatened.
“The Court has acknowledged that the National Park Service can limit access to its facilities where the public is at risk of harm,” a department spokesperson said.
The department also maintained that the ruling would not stop preparations for the proposed golf course redevelopment.
“Nothing in the Court’s order precludes planning for the development of a world class golf course to continue. The Department of Justice will always vociferously defend the Trump Administration’s agenda in court.”
Trump, however, criticised Reyes and her decision in a social media post on Sunday morning, describing her as a judge appointed by former President Joe Biden.
“Biden appointed Judge Reyes has delayed,” he wrote, “for yet another two weeks, the fix up and reconstruction, by the Department of the Interior, of one of the worst and most dangerous golf courses anywhere in the U.S.”
His criticism came hours after he had publicly mentioned the judge over previous decisions that stalled the project. Trump had also suggested that Reyes could take pride in seeing the redevelopment completed if she allowed the work to proceed.
The dispute has intensified as Reyes has questioned whether the administration was moving ahead with its plans despite repeatedly telling the court that no final decision had been reached.
She has also opened an ethics inquiry to determine whether Justice Department lawyers misled her during the months-long legal proceedings.
The judge’s concerns followed several public statements by Trump about transforming the existing course into a championship-standard, links-style facility. He had also announced plans to shut down the current golf course on November 15.
Last month, Park Service workers and contractors removed hundreds of trees from the site with little prior notice, despite Reyes having repeatedly warned against unexpected actions.
The development prompted her to issue a preliminary injunction stopping further large-scale tree removal.
Her latest ruling, which runs until November 28, arose from a lawsuit filed in February by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers who regularly use the existing facility.
The current 18-hole golf course was designed by Walter Travis in the 1910s, while facilities for beginners were introduced in later years. Trump selected renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio to oversee the proposed redesign.
