President Donald Trump's Justice Department griped to a federal judge about demanding orders while laying out plans to take over a beloved space.
In a notice filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Trump administration lawyers revealed that the National Park Service will close East Potomac Park south of Buckeye Drive, including its public golf course, on Nov. 15. The filing came in a lawsuit brought by the DC Preservation League against the Interior Department and other federal defendants, two days after the court entered a preliminary injunction on Oct. 26 requiring the government to give notice of its actions.
The department griped that the court's order demands "both prompt notice, yet also an extensive amount of information that is difficult to fully determine at the onset of any action." Government lawyers singled out the requirement to name "each individual, by name and title, who will be involved" in carrying out a given action, as well as a full assessment of the action's impact on the park.
According to the notice, the Park Service will submit a rendering by designer Tom Fazio to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday for a "World Class, championship-level golf course" capable of hosting events like the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. The commission is set to consider the plan at its Dec. 3 meeting.
The filing states the closure is "consistent with the President's directive."
The Park Service also signed a new lease Wednesday with National Links Trust, the company that currently runs the East Potomac Golf Course. Under the deal, the company will stop operating the course by Nov. 15 but will keep running the Rock Creek and Langston golf courses. The government argued the course would close because "there will be no company to operate" it.
Administration lawyers also pointed to a deteriorated sea wall they said is "crumbling into the Potomac River," calling the closure "necessary regardless of the ultimate design of the golf course."
"Defendants will follow all relevant procedural requirements in finalizing and implementing the Fazio plan," the notice reads.
The filing was signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. and Justice Department trial attorney Michael Robertson, among other department lawyers.