Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday extended a temporary ban on tree removal at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., blocking the Trump administration from cutting down additional trees for two more weeks after hundreds were removed from the historic public course over the weekend.
In a short order, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruled that the Department of the Interior and National Park Service may not remove any more trees at East Potomac through Oct. 26. Until then, the administration must give the court, the D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers three business days’ notice before “making any irreparable modification to any permanent form or feature” of the course.
Reyes said the D.C. Preservation League and the two golfers were likely to suffer harm without court intervention. The plaintiffs are seeking to stop President Trump’s proposed redevelopment of East Potomac.
The order followed a fierce rebuke of the Justice Department during a hearing that lasted nearly four hours Monday. Reyes called the hearing after learning Friday afternoon that the National Park Service intended to remove an estimated 529 trees as part of a “tree management and cultural landscape rehabilitation project” at the East Potomac golf course.
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In a court filing Sunday, the D.C. Preservation League said crews had cut down all 529 trees on Saturday, including “healthy, mature oaks and maples.” The group also said workers planned to remove “hundreds” more trees soon, though rain disrupted the effort.
Marissa Piropato, an attorney for the Justice Department, told Reyes that 430 trees had been removed in total. She said about 99 additional trees had been marked for removal.
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For months, Reyes had repeatedly instructed the government to notify the plaintiffs and the court in advance of any planned construction or similar work at East Potomac. That notice was intended to give her time to review the proposed activity and issue an order if necessary.
The Justice Department, however, did not file notice of the planned tree removal until shortly before 5 p.m. Friday.
“You did not do your best. You did your absolute worst,” Reyes told Piropato, criticizing the Justice Department’s handling of notice to the court and the plaintiffs.
The judge also told Piropato and other government attorneys that they had “lost credibility.”
Reyes ordered Kevin Griess, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, and Frank Lands, the National Park Service’s deputy director of operations, to testify about the decision to remove the 430 trees and who authorized the work to begin Saturday.
Reyes set the next hearing for Oct. 19 and directed Jessica Bowron, acting director of the National Park Service, and Gregory Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, to attend.
