Golfers play past felled trees at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington D.C., US, on Sunday. - Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images

One of the tensest showdowns between the Trump administration and the federal bench in Washington, DC, came to a head on Monday in a marathon court hearing over the President Donald Trump’s efforts to overhaul a golf course that has been the subject of months of litigation.

Trump early Monday doubled down on his plan to close and renovate a public Washington, DC, golf course, saying construction ...