WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Tuesday ordered a halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course until Oct. 26, putting a further pause on work at the historic D.C. course that has been part of President Donald Trump’s plans to remake the city.
Reyes issued the order one day after a tense three-hour hearing in which she harshly criticized the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend.
At the Monday hearing, Reyes ordered a 24-hour pause that could be extended to 14 days if necessary. It was limited to one day while the government tried to find a key Trump administration official to discuss why a massive tree-cutting at the park needed to occur over the holiday weekend, with little notification to plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to halt renovation plans or the judge.
The judge also ordered during that period the government “must provide the court and plaintiffs three business days’ written advance notice prior to making any irreparable modification to any permanent form or feature of the East Potomac Golf Course.”
The DC Preservation League and two local golfers are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The co-counsel in the case, Democracy Forward, thanked Reyes for stepping in and halting what the group called the “mad rush” to turn the public recreation space course into a high-end golf course. “We are pleased that the court intervened and will prevent additional work while we seek more lasting relief,” the group said in a statement.
The Monday hearing and Tuesday order were prompted by the National Park Service ordering the cutting of hundreds of trees at the golf course after filing the court notification only minutes before the close of business on Oct. 9 on a holiday weekend, giving the plaintiffs little time to respond. At least 400 trees were cutdown over the weekend with plans for several hundred more.
The historic park, especially the golf course, caught the eye of Trump, who wants to turn it into a world-class golf venue. It’s part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has multiple projects underway, including a $400 million White House ballroom and the soon-to-begin construction of his triumphal arch. He began talking about the city's public courses in late 2025.
“When completed, this Course will have the ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events,” Trump posted on social media in June.
The course has been the subject of multiple emergency hearings, including one in May in which Reyes was out of the country, because of concerns from the plaintiffs that the administration would move ahead with work despite the pending lawsuit. In each instance Reyes declined issuing temporary stop orders out of trust for the government's attorney in the case.
“Every single time I have given the government the benefit of the doubt and every single time I made absolutely clear that I want notice,” Reyes said. “What has happened has cost the government all credibility with me.”
This article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/federal-judge-orders-trump-administration-170729125.html