Judge temporarily blocks Trump from closing Washington DC golf course for renovation

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the US government's closure of a historic golf course and park in Washington DC.

US District Judge Ana Reyes has been overseeing a months-long challenge to the president's plans for East Potomac Golf Links, which he said would be closed from 15 November for extensive renovations.

Reyes has said Donald Trump cannot close the park or its golf course, but added that his administration was not required to actively manage either.

Trump, an avid golfer, has said his plans to upgrade the 106-year-old course will create "one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World". The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

Declaring the current course "Trash Island", he announced in October it would be renovated over 15 months to create a space that "will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments" - despite the ongoing litigation.

In a 30-page decision issued on Saturday, Reyes said the Trump administration's justifications for the proposed course closures were pretextual, and that the government violated at least two federal laws "to meet an arbitrary deadline."

"The Government proposes to close a historic park, daily enjoyed by Washingtonians of all stripes, indefinitely," Reyes wrote.

She said the closure "runs counter to the public interest in utilising national parkland", adding that the government had not "plausibly identified any harm it would suffer from a temporary restraining order that preserves the status quo pending further proceedings".

Her order will last until the 28 November.

'Trash Island' or DC landmark? How a golf course got Trump in a messy legal dispute

The legal dispute dates back to February, when the DC Preservation League and others sued over redevelopment plans for the park.

The historic course, which sits 2 miles (3km) south of the White House, is one of three public courses run by the National Park Service in the nation's capital.

The legal fight then escalated in October, when the NPS began to cut down hundreds of trees without notifying Reyes until 15 hours before work was set to begin.

After the trees were cut, Reyes ordered the Trump administration to stop tree removal until at least 26 October and give her three business days' notice about making any other permanent changes.

Despite the work stoppage, Trump announced that the course would be closed for 15 months from 15 November to accommodate the renovations. He also shared a rendering of the course redesign.

"The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect. It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous, and disease-infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall," he said in a post to Truth Social.

Reyes has since separately opened an inquiry into whether the justice department attorneys "have made misrepresentations to the court and otherwise violated ethical rules".

That included whether giving late notice to the court about the renovation plans was "done in bad faith" and whether the attorneys failed to correct previously false statements or withheld information.

She said she would carry out the inquiry with a special master, an independent third party.

Judge investigating whether Trump administration lied about golf course renovations