Washington, 15 November (H.S.): A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from closing a historic golf course and public park in Washington, D.C., which President Donald Trump wants to transform into a new world-class championship golf venue.

US District Judge Ana C. Reyes ruled that the administration could not shut down East Potomac Park and its golf course. However, she clarified that the government was not required to actively manage or operate either facility.

According to a CBS News report, the federal judge granted relief to a Washington-based preservation group and two local golfers who challenged the administration's decision to close East Potomac Park on November 15. The proposed closure was part of the administration's plan to redesign the golf course and turn it into a championship-style venue designed by renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio.

Judge Reyes observed that the reasons put forward by the Trump administration to justify the proposed closure were merely pretexts. The government is coming up with new justifications for closing the park, even as it has repeatedly maintained that it would shut it down to comply with the President's directive, she said.

Catherine Carroll, senior legal adviser at Democracy Forward, welcomed the court's intervention, saying it had once again prevented irreparable damage that could have resulted from what she described as another vanity project of the Trump-Vance administration.

The administration's bizarre determination to destroy East Potomac Park would have deprived the public of an invaluable park that could never be replaced. We are proud to have worked alongside this coalition to secure this temporary relief, she said.

A Justice Department spokesperson said the court had acknowledged that the National Park Service could restrict public access to its facilities. The Department of Justice will always vigorously defend the Trump administration's agenda in court, the spokesperson added.

Judge Reyes has been overseeing the legal challenge to the President's plans for East Potomac Golf Links, a public golf course in Washington that opened in the 1920s.

The controversy intensified last month after the National Park Service informed the judge that it planned to remove trees from the golf course. More than 500 trees were subsequently cut down over a single weekend, prompting the judge to issue an order prohibiting the Trump administration from removing any more trees.

Reyes also directed the Justice Department to ensure that the National Park Service notified the court in advance of any further measures it intended to take at the golf course.

Under the latest temporary restraining order, East Potomac Park and its golf course must remain open during their usual public access hours through November 28, or until further orders from the court. The ruling does not, however, require the government to continue operating the golf course or provide active management of the park.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar