A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to ensure a senior Interior Department official preserves his personal phone’s contents, marking a new development in an increasingly contentious legal battle over the president’s plans to overhaul a historic golf course in Washington, D.C.
In a minute order, obtained by Newsweek, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes directed the government to ensure that Gregory Wischer, the Interior's deputy chief of staff for policy, had taken “appropriate steps” to preserve the contents of his phone.
Reyes also expanded an existing preservation requirement covering text messages related to the litigation to include “any material concerning the East Potomac Golf Course and this litigation.” The judge added that the order “should be broadly construed.”
Wischer has played a central role in the administration's handling of the course. He testified during an October 19 hearing about the development of the tree-removal plan and the administration's proposed redesign, telling the hearing he had learned of President Donald Trump's announced November 15 closure date through the president's social media post. He also testified that a new golf-course design had been sent to his personal phone.
The preservation order does not specify that the phone itself must be surrendered to the court or that its contents must immediately be turned over to the plaintiffs. Its stated requirement is that the government ensure appropriate preservation steps have been taken.
The ruling is the latest development in the dispute over Trump's proposed transformation of East Potomac Golf Links, a public course on federal land managed by the National Park Service. The lawsuit challenges the administration's handling of tree removal and its compliance with federal environmental-review requirements.
Reyes denied the plaintiffs' request to extend the temporary restraining order (TRO), which bars additional tree cutting through Monday, and denied without prejudice their motion to resume testimony. The motion notes the plaintiffs—the D.C. Preservation League and local golfers Alex Dickson and Dave Roberts—may renew their request ahead of a permanent-injunction hearing, though Reyes has not announced a date for further proceedings or indicated whether she will grant longer-term relief.
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East Potomac Golf Legal Battle Timeline
2025: Interior Department Terminates Public Golf Course Operator's Lease
The Interior Department terminated National Links Trust's lease to operate three public golf courses in Washington, including East Potomac Golf Links. The nonprofit continued operating East Potomac and Langston Golf Course under an interim arrangement.
The move helped clear the way for the Trump administration to take control of the properties and fueled concerns among local golfers that the courses could be transformed in ways that would limit affordable public access.
February 13, 2026: Golfers and Preservation Group Sue Trump Administration
The D.C. Preservation League and two frequent East Potomac golfers, Roberts and Dickson, sued the Interior and National Park Service in federal court.
The lawsuit challenged the administration's broader plans for the course, alleging violations of federal environmental, historic-preservation and administrative-procedure requirements. The plaintiffs also raised concerns about debris from the demolition of the White House's East Wing being brought to East Potomac Park.
At the time, the administration had not publicly released a detailed design, but Trump had already discussed turning East Potomac into a championship-level golf course. The plaintiffs sought to block the project and challenge the government's actions before further changes could be made.
Spring 2026: Lawsuit Proceeds as Administration Defends Its Plans
The government challenged the lawsuit, arguing in part that no final agency action had occurred that could be reviewed by the court. It maintained that the proposed redevelopment remained conceptual.
The court held hearings on the parties' competing motions. Reyes initially declined to impose an injunction, relying instead on government assurances that officials would notify the plaintiffs and the court of major developments beyond ordinary maintenance.
May 2026: Administration Unveils Initial Golf Course Design
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum publicly unveiled a design for an 18-hole championship course, a nine-hole short course and expanded practice facilities.
The announcement gave the redevelopment proposal greater definition, although the administration continued to argue in court that the project had not reached the stage of final agency action.
June 28, 2026: Trump Announces Work Will Begin September 1
After visiting East Potomac Golf Links with golf-course architect Tom Fazio and Interior officials, Trump announced on Truth Social that the administration would build one of the world's greatest golf courses, with work scheduled to begin September 1.
The plaintiffs viewed the announcement as evidence that the project was advancing despite the government's earlier descriptions of the plans as conceptual. The administration continued to dispute the plaintiffs' characterization.
July-September 2026: Judge Relies on Government Assurances
During proceedings in July and September, the government continued to maintain that the project had not reached the stage requiring the court to intervene. Reyes agreed to rely on assurances that officials would notify the plaintiffs and the court of major developments involving the course outside ordinary maintenance.
Those assurances became central to the dispute after the government moved ahead with tree removal in October.
October 5-6, 2026: Officials Develop and Approve Tree-Removal Plan
According to Reyes' October 13 opinion, Wischer directed officials on October 5 to implement recommendations from a 2019 National Park Service cultural-landscape report “as soon as practical.”
Acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron approved the tree-management plan the following day. The government later argued that the work was intended to restore the course's historic landscape, rather than implement Trump's broader redesign.
Reyes questioned why officials had moved so quickly on a plan based on an older report, particularly when the government had previously described the redevelopment as conceptual and had agreed to provide notice of major changes.
October 9-10, 2026: Hundreds of Trees Removed
The government notified the court late October 9 that the National Park Service planned to remove up to 529 trees beginning the next morning.
By the end of October 10, crews had removed approximately 430 healthy non-invasive trees, according to Reyes' opinion. The judge wrote that hundreds more might have been removed but for a rain delay.
The plaintiffs argued that the tree removal was part of the larger redevelopment and that the administration had proceeded without the required environmental review. The government maintained that the work was separate maintenance based on the 2019 landscape report.
October 12-13, 2026: Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order
At an emergency hearing on October 12, Reyes sharply questioned government attorneys about the timing of the tree removal and whether it was connected to Trump's proposed redesign.
In an opinion issued October 13, Reyes granted the plaintiffs' request for a TRO barring further tree removal through October 26. She found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the government had failed to comply with federal environmental-review requirements.
The order also required advance notice before certain additional irreversible changes to the course.
October 16-19, 2026: DOJ Seeks Judge's Removal as Trump Publicizes New Plans
The Justice Department filed a motion seeking Reyes' recusal, accusing her of bias and "improper "open hostility" toward government attorneys. Reyes rejected the request on October 18.
Over the same weekend, Trump publicized an updated course design and announced that East Potomac Golf Links would close November 15 for approximately 15 months of renovation. The updated proposal differed from the earlier design and intensified questions about whether the administration's plans had moved beyond the conceptual stage.
Trump also launched a personal attack on Reyes, writing on Truth Social, “The judge on the case is a crazed lunatic whose courthouse tapes will reveal, may be insane?”
October 19, 2026: Senior Officials Testify in Court
Reyes held a lengthy hearing at which Wischer and Bowron were questioned about the tree-removal plan, the administration's decision-making and the status of the proposed redevelopment.
The judge pressed officials on the relationship between the tree removal and Trump's public announcements. The hearing ended without a final ruling on longer-term injunctive relief.
October 22, 2026: Judge Orders Phone Preservation but Denies TRO Extension
Reyes ordered the government to ensure that Wischer had taken appropriate steps to preserve the contents of his personal phone.
In the same minute order, Reyes denied the plaintiffs' motion to extend the TRO and denied without prejudice their request to resume testimony.
The existing TRO is set to expire Monday unless the court takes further action. Reyes has not indicated in that order whether she will issue a preliminary injunction or what restrictions any future order might impose.
What Happens Next
The immediate question is whether Reyes will issue further restrictions before the TRO expires on Monday.
Any preliminary injunction would establish the restrictions that remain in effect while the litigation continues. Its scope could determine whether additional tree removal or other irreversible work can proceed before the court resolves the plaintiffs' claims.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins