U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Thursday demanded firmer commitments from the Trump administration that it will not proceed with renovations at the East Potomac Golf Links until the dispute is resolved in court.
Reyes said she made no formal decision after speaking with the attorney representing the government but added, "I'm just not there yet" and "I'm not going to assume the agency is going to act in bad faith."
She gave the two sides two weeks to work on language that would give her and the plaintiffs assurances they would not suddenly learn in the "middle of the night" that there were bulldozers at the course "chopping down cherry trees."
The plaintiffs had sought a hearing after recent visits by President Donald Trump to several sites around the capital; Trump posted on social media that "When completed, this Course will have the ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events."
Reyes noted plans displayed when Trump visited the course suggested the administration was further along than publicly acknowledged, and she said it was hard to believe someone who makes "millions" designing golf courses would have designed a proposal and escorted Trump "out of the goodness of his heart."
Justice Department lawyer Michael Robertson told Reyes that Tom Fazio had not been hired or designated by the Interior Department to design the course and called the plans seen by the court "conceptual."
Robertson also said there remained a lengthy process that would include signoffs from the National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts; Reyes said the Planning Commission is filled with Trump allies who have approved a number of his projects, including the White House ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The course has been used as a dumping ground for debris from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, which Trump ordered torn down in preparation for construction of a ballroom; Reyes said she needed to see evidence from the plaintiffs that the debris poses a danger before she would consider ordering its removal.
The 106-year-old public course has been embroiled in the lawsuit since February, the complaint against the Department of the Interior says the proposed reconstruction of East Potomac Park would violate the congressional act that created the park in 1897, and the DC Preservation League sought an emergency stop in May because work was expected to begin immediately.