The courtroom drama over the possible renovation of a Washington, D.C. golf course spilled over to social media on Sunday when President Donald Trump posted a rendition of the redesigned course.
In the post, Trump called the existing course “old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect” and stated that “when completed, [East Potomac Golf Links] 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.”
East Potomac has been at the center of a legal battle between the DC Preservation League and the Department of Interior since February and the litigation became particularly heated last week when the National Park Service removed “about 430 healthy, non-invasive trees” from the course despite warnings from U.S. District Court judge Ana Reyes for the government to provide notice “if anyone orders big things to show up [at the course].”
In response to Trump’s posts, attorneys for the government argued there was “no final agency action” regarding a redesign plan and that the tree removal was part of previously scheduled maintenance.
“The plan is not final because the Park Service has not completed its review and the details of the proposal are subject to change during the review process,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward argued in a motion filed on Sunday.
In his Sunday post on social media, Trump said golf course architect Tom Fazio created the redesign plan for East Potomac and said construction will begin on Nov. 15 and completed in “approximately 15 months.”
Trump also took to social media early Monday, arguing the Department of Interior can renovate the course “as [a] right” and called Reyes a “crazed lunatic whose courthouse tapes will reveal, may be insane?”
During a hearing on Oct. 12, Reyes accused government officials of doing “your absolute worst” and added she was “furious” and “beyond disappointed” with the government’s actions.
Attorneys for the government filed a motion over the weekend arguing that Reyes should be removed from the case and litigation should be transferred to another district court judge.
That motion was denied by Reyes on Sunday.
“It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record,” Reyes wrote in the ruling. “By any objective measure, the government fails to meet the standard for recusal. And the court does not, on its review, conclude it is mandatory.”
A hearing is scheduled in the case for Monday.