President Donald Trump announced plans to close the East Potomac Golf Links course in November for renovations that will last 15 months, days after a federal judge said she was “furious” that the administration cut down hundreds of trees despite an ongoing legal fight.
"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," Trump said on social media on Oct. 18.
Trump also argued that when the course was built – it first opened in 1921 – East Potomac was famous for "no trees, with views of Washington, D.C., for all to see, but now, it is completely overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe."
His comments come after U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes chided the Trump administration because National Park Service workers cut down 430 trees Oct. 10 with plans to cut down about 300 more. She told federal lawyers during an emergency hearing Oct. 12 that "more than being upset and furious right now, I am just deeply disappointed in the government."
Reyes said there was no urgency to the tree removal and government lawyers should have alerted litigants in the court fight over the area days earlier, to have a chance to block the project.
But on Oct. 18 Trump said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and golf architect Tom Fazio had planned "a World Class Championship Golf Course" on the site of the current course in Washington.
"When completed, it 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 such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup," Trump said on Truth Social.
Justice Department lawyer Marissa Piropato also told Reyes last week that government attorneys had done their best to gather details on the tree removal so they could share them in a court filing.
"You did not do your best," Reyes replied. "You did your absolute worst."
For Trump, an avid golfer, the renovations at East Potomac are part of a wide-reaching overhaul of Washington with several high-profile, headline-spurring controversial projects.
The items on his agenda include a ballroom under construction at the White House, a renovation of the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial and an attempt to fully modernize the Kennedy Center to his liking.
Contributing; Bart Jansen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump announces major renovations at DC-area golf course amid legal fight
