Trump Administration Says Judge Erred in Golf Course Case

The Trump administration is asking a federal judge to dismiss arguments from plaintiffs challenging construction and tree removal at a public golf course in Washington, D.C.

The government’s 44-page opposition brief, however, goes beyond disputing the plaintiffs’ claims. It also sharply criticizes the judge’s rulings, reasoning and handling of the case.

The case, filed months ago, was brought by golfers and an environmental organization. In their complaint, they alleged that President Donald Trump planned to “destroy East Potomac Golf Course” and replace it with a championship-style facility capable of hosting professional tournaments.

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, appointed by President Joe Biden, initially resisted granting the plaintiffs preliminary relief. She told the parties that she did “not want to be the overseer of Parks and Rec.”

The administration now argues that the court overstepped its authority. “Despite lacking jurisdiction, this Court has now violated bedrock separation of powers principles by demanding that high-ranking Department of the Interior officials be subject to wide-ranging cross-examination without any showing of exceptional circumstances,” the motion states.

According to the government, the plaintiffs have already had their “bite at the apple” when it comes to depositions. The administration says the plaintiffs previously questioned Interior Department officials about issues that had “little to no relevance to the TRO proceedings before the Court.”

The Justice Department calls the additional discovery approved for the plaintiffs an “error” that was “compounded” by several other mistakes, in the government’s view.

The opposition motion identifies those alleged errors as follows:

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“On October 13, 2026, the Court entered a TRO based on a claim that Plaintiffs did not make, against an agency action they did not challenge, on a theory of harm and causation they did not present.” The order bars the National Park Service from “fell[ing] any further trees on the East Potomac Golf Course,” an NPS-managed property inside East Potomac Park.

On the question of legal standing, the government argues that the plaintiffs merely “dislike the proposed changes” because they “enjoy the golf course as it is, and do not wish for it to change.”

That opposition, the motion says, is “not a basis” for filing suit because it does not demonstrate a “concrete and particularized injury.”

The administration also says the plaintiffs are challenging a proposal to redesign and renovate the course that has not yet been finalized.

“Their complaint, even as amended, still relies upon speculation about what the Proposal will specifically propose, how it will be implemented and what it will consist of in final form, and how, if at all, the Proposal or its final implementation might cause them injury in the future,” the motion says.

The government separately maintains that the dispute over tree removal is unrelated to the proposed golf course redevelopment.

“Plaintiffs’ complaint nowhere alleges that the tree removal that occurred on October 10th, and would have continued but for this Court’s intervention, is even part of the Proposal to begin with,” the filing states. “The record demonstrates that it is not.”

The post Trump administration accuses judge in golf course case of “error” and challenges her rulings while asking the court to reject the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction first appeared on Law & Crime.