Judge Blocks Immediate Closure of East Potomac Park for Trump Golf Project

A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from shuttering East Potomac Park in Washington, finding that the proposed closure appeared to be intended to start the process of transforming the area into a championship golf course.

President Trump had announced that the municipal golf course and park would close on Sunday, ahead of the renovation work that he had called for. The ruling by Judge Ana C. Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia means the park will remain open for now.

In her 30-page order, Judge Reyes said that the Trump administration would not be responsible for operating the course while the case proceeded. But she required the golf courses, paths and picnic areas in the park to remain “open and accessible to the public.”

Judge Reyes has for months been overseeing combative litigation over the future of the Washington park and golf course. A preservationist organization and local golfers sued in February, arguing that the project threatened to destroy a historic course that remained a cheap and accessible option for recreational players.

She had issued a series of rulings focused on a narrower dispute over whether the administration could clear out trees at the site. Saturday’s order was her first blocking work more generally at the park.

It came amid a larger standoff in which Judge Reyes has repeatedly accused administration officials of concealing their efforts to move forward with Mr. Trump’s ideas.