Arabic version: قاضية توقف الإغلاق المزمع لملعب غولف في واشنطن
According to BBC News, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the US government from closing East Potomac Golf Links and its surrounding historic park in Washington DC for planned renovations. US District Judge Ana Reyes said the Trump administration cannot close the park or golf course, though it is not required to actively manage them.
The administration had planned to close the 106-year-old course from 15 November for 15 months of extensive work. Donald Trump, an avid golfer, said the project would create “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World” and could host world-class tournaments while remaining open to the public.
In a 30-page decision issued on Saturday, Reyes found that the administration’s reasons for the proposed closures were pretextual. She wrote that the government had violated at least two federal laws “to meet an arbitrary deadline” and said an indefinite closure of a park used daily by Washington residents ran counter to the public interest in using national parkland.
The temporary restraining order remains in force until 28 November. The dispute began in February when the DC Preservation League and others sued over redevelopment plans. It escalated in October after the National Park Service cut down hundreds of trees without notifying Reyes until 15 hours before work was due to begin.
Reyes had already ordered the administration to halt tree removal and give three business days’ notice before other permanent changes. She has also opened a separate inquiry into whether justice department attorneys made misrepresentations to the court, failed to correct false statements or withheld information. The White House has been contacted for comment.
