House Democrat maneuvers to block funding for Trump's East Potomac golf course renovation

Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, has a plan to prevent the Trump administration from using taxpayer money to fund a renovation of the East Potomac Park into a championship golf course. 

Huffman argued that the administration's planned seawall repair and the golf course are closely linked. He asked House and Senate appropriations leaders Thursday to attach restrictions to year-end spending legislation, the Washington Post reported. 

This would ensure that money for the failing seawall cannot be used to fund the larger renovation project. 

The Trump administration is requesting $500 million for National Park Service construction, which includes restoration and construction of the East Potomac seawall. 

Huffman's proposed restrictions would permit routine maintenance and seawall replacement according to current plans, but they would prohibit federal money from redesigning or expanding the golf course, altering roads, removing healthy trees, constructing new buildings or reshaping the land.

Other provisions would prevent the sale or transfer of East Potomac and bar agreements that could give Trump, his family or their businesses an interest in the property. 

The Justice Department filed notice on Wednesday night, as President Donald Trump has said, that there are plans for renovating the East Potomac Golf Course. The department also confirmed that Trump's date for the course closure of Nov. 15 is accurate. 

The National Park Service will submit a rendering by Tom Fazio for a World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events—such as the U.S. Open — to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday, the DOJ said in the filing. 

The planning commission will consider the plan at its Dec. 3 meeting.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered the new hearing after granting a preliminary injunction Monday requested by a preservationist group and group of local D.C. golfers asking her to stop the Trump administration from cutting down trees at the park as part of the redevelopment project. 

The president’s plan to go forward with the project came hours after Reyes's ruling, when he posted on socia media: “We will immediately appeal this decision. When completed, it is anticipated that this Course, which will be open to the Public, at a reduced rate for those living in Washington, D.C., will be one of the finest anywhere in the World.”

Trump has called Reyes's rulings "unconstitutional." The next hearing will occur Friday or Monday, according to The Hill.