President Trump's Sept. 1 deadline to begin renovating East Potomac Golf Links passed Tuesday with no construction, no approvals and no official word on next steps.

The 327-acre park on the Potomac draws nearly a million visitors a year. As of Tuesday, Sept. 1, golfers were still booking tee times and the course remained open.

National Links Trust, the nonprofit that has operated the course since the government terminated its 50-year lease, told WUSA9 it intends to keep East Potomac open until told otherwise. An employee in the pro shop told DC News Now on Monday, Aug. 31, that the National Park Service had not sent any closure updates.

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes ordered both sides in the ongoing lawsuit to appear for a status conference at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. She issued the order Monday after attorneys filed a proposed briefing schedule.

Reyes has pushed back on the government's timeline before. At a July hearing, she declined to block the project only after Justice Department attorneys assured her no construction would begin before required federal approvals were finished. She pointed to Trump's social media post announcing the Sept. 1 start date and said she could "no longer suspend belief that there isn't a commitment to move forward."

Government attorney Michael Robertson acknowledged the administration was chasing the president's date. The Justice Department wrote in an Aug. 28 court filing, reported by the Washington Post, that "no final agency action has occurred" and that "multiple public-facing steps" would precede a course redesign. An Aug. 6 email from a Justice Department attorney stated the Park Service must secure final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) before construction can begin.

Neither the NCPC nor the Commission of Fine Arts has posted an agenda item about the golf course for September, according to WUSA9. An initial meeting in the historical-preservation review has been postponed twice and not rescheduled, the Washington Post reported.

The stakes extend well beyond golfers. David Knorr, golf coach at Wakefield High School, told DC News Now the closure would hit about a dozen high school teams. Dennis Valentine, golf coach at Alexandria City High School, said students would face hour-long commutes to the nearest practice facility. "We're hopeful that it's not happening," Valentine said. "And the only reason why I have that optimism is the course is still taking tee times into next week."

Tree removal has added urgency to the fight. The Washington Post counted more than 60 trees that appeared to have been removed in recent weeks, including a cherry tree near the 14th hole. The Interior Department awarded a $349,000 contract to Ross Tree Expert Company of Falls Church, Va., for tree and stump removal running from Aug. 19 through early October, DC News Now reported. RTEC Treecare said in a statement that its work was limited to trees identified by the Park Service as hazardous, non-native or invasive.

Hundreds of residents rallied at the park on Saturday and Saturday, Aug. 29-30, to protest the renovation plans. Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen wrote on X that thousands of people had used the park that weekend for golf, fishing, biking and cookouts.

@charlesallen: "Thousands of people were on East Potomac Park this weekend - golfing, fishing, biking, cookouts, playgrounds, & more. It's all at risk with trees being cleared out & heavy trucks staging all around to start demo. It's a park for the people & worth fighting for."

The DC Preservation League and two residents have sued the Interior Department over the project. East Potomac Park was declared a public park by Congress in 1897 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a letter from Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D to the Park Service. ANC 6D voted 5-0 in May to forward concerns about the park's future.

The status conference before Judge Reyes is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.