Federal judge blocks Trump from closing historic D.C. golf course, for now

Updated on: November 14, 2026 / 9:57 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's closure of a historic golf course and park in Washington, D.C., that President Trump wants to overhaul into a new "world class championship" course.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruled that the Trump administration cannot close East Potomac Park and its golf course, but said that the Trump administration was not required to actively manage either.

She sided with a D.C. preservation group and two local golfers who argued that closure of East Potomac Park, set for Sunday, Nov. 15, was part of the Trump administration's plan to redesign and replace the course with a championship-style venue designed by golf course architect Tom Fazio.

Reyes said that the Trump administration's justifications for the proposed course closures were pretextual, and said, "the Government reverse-engineers additional justifications for the Park's closure… All while it continues to assert that it will close the Park to follow the President's directive."

"We are grateful that once again, a court has intervened to prevent irreparable harm caused by the Trump-Vance administration's pursuit of another one of the president's vanity projects," said Catherine…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/