Judge Extends Halt on East Potomac Golf Course Tree Removal to Oct. 26, Orders Top Interior Officials to Testify Oct. 19

Since Judge Ana Reyes first ordered the government in May to warn the court before any major work at East Potomac Golf Links, the fight over the Washington public course has turned on one weekend. On Saturday, Oct. 10, crews took down hundreds of trees. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, Reyes extended her halt on further cutting through at least Oct. 26, court records show.

What happened over the holiday weekend

The Justice Department told the court on Friday, Oct. 9, at 4:55 p.m. ET that tree removal would proceed. Government offices were about to close for the holiday weekend. Cutting began the next morning.

The plaintiffs say 529 trees were felled. The government acknowledged about 430 were removed Saturday, with another 299 slated for removal. The plaintiffs are the D.C. Preservation League and golfers Alex Dickson and Dave Roberts. They are suing under the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess environmental effects before making final decisions.

Reyes had told the government in May to notify her if more than 10 trees were to come down.

Justice Department attorney Marissa Piropato said the department learned on Oct. 8 that the cutting might happen and firmly learned of the plan late that day or early Oct. 9. Reyes said the department should have called the court. When Piropato said the government had done its best, Reyes answered: "No, you did not do your best. You did your absolute worst."

Testimony from the Park Service

Deputy National Park Service Director Frank Lands testified at Monday's hearing, which ran more than three hours, that he learned of the plan on Oct. 5. He said the direction came from the Interior Department, and that he was told to implement a 2019 Park Service report's recommendations "as soon as practical." He said he did not know why the urgency had appeared.

Another Park Service official testified that none of the trees cut Saturday had been identified as hazardous. Two officials acknowledged there was no urgency to the work.

Reyes questioned whether she had been given accurate information. "The question goes to whether or not I have been lied to, whether I have been lied to in declarations about the plans, whether I have been lied to about the timing of things," she said.

The ruling

In a written order Tuesday night, Reyes said she was "skeptical" of the administration's claim that the removals had nothing to do with Trump's renovation plans. "The Court concludes, on this limited record, that government officials raced to undertake the [Tree Management Plan] because President Trump demands haste on his redesign," she wrote.

She had earlier said she had "no faith" the government would stop cutting without an order. "I actually don't think courts should be playing 'Parks and Rec,'" she said, but added that without an order the administration would likely keep cutting.

She also warned of contempt: "If that order is violated by two seconds, there are going to be contempt proceedings."

The administration's position

The Interior Department disputes that the work is tied to the redesign. "The National Park Service is finally implementing a 7-year-old plan to address tree overgrowth at East Potomac Golf Course," a spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the work follows the 2019 Cultural Landscape Report, will include "selective tree and vegetation work to restore the course," and is part of the agency's "required stewardship of the park."

The Park Service has also said the project would restore the course's original landscape and improve safety. Testimony that none of the trees removed Saturday had been flagged as hazardous bears on that safety rationale.

The plaintiffs say the cutting is part of a larger push to remake the public course into a venue for professional tournaments without finishing required environmental and historic-preservation reviews. "The administration has time and again tried to avoid the law in their mad rush toward converting a public recreation space to a high-end golf course," the coalition fighting the work said in a statement. Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman called it one of the president's "pet vanity projects."

The government has not conceded any of that. The question of whether it intentionally delayed notice is still open, and Reyes is the one who will decide it.

What comes next

Reyes has ordered Interior Department political appointee Gregory Wischer, a point person on several of Trump's Washington beautification projects, and acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron to testify at a hearing Monday, Oct. 19. A Justice Department attorney questioned the relevance of that testimony. Reyes said it appeared the court had been misled about the administration's plans.

She also ordered written briefs from both sides on whether to issue a broader preliminary injunction. That injunction would block further renovation of the course while the lawsuit proceeds.