Federal judge admonishes Trump administration over East Potomac Park tree removal

A federal judge scolded Trump administration lawyers on Monday for failing to provide sufficient notice before cutting down hundreds of trees in East Potomac Park over the weekend, saying she was “beyond disappointed” with the government’s conduct.

“I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during an emergency hearing, adding that the government had lost “all of its credibility” in the case.

Reyes is overseeing a lawsuit brought by the DC Preservation League and two individuals seeking to block an overhaul of the public golf courses on the property, which President Trump has said he wants converted into a championship-caliber course capable of hosting professional tournaments.

East Potomac Park is home to three golf courses, including an 18-hole public facility that offers affordable rates and serves tens of thousands of players every week. It is also a popular biking, running and picnicking location for many Washington, D.C., locals and tourists each year.

The property for the last several years has been operated by the National Links Trust, a local nonprofit that had been charged with maintaining the golf course at East Potomac, along with two other properties at Rock Creek Park and Langston on the District’s northeast side.

The Trump administration’s plans for East Potomac Park have roiled local community activists who contend the government is illegally redeveloping public land at the behest of the president, drawing comparisons to the ballroom he is constructing at the White House and plans for a massive arch across the Potomac River in Arlington.

Workers removed roughly 430 trees from the park on Saturday as part of what officials described as an effort to restore the course to its historic design in line with a 2019 report.

The DC Preservation League sought an emergency temporary restraining order on Sunday, citing “irreversible damage” to the golf course.

“This plan isn’t just about safety,” Kevin Griess, the Superintendent for National Mall and Memorial Parks in the National Park Service (NPS), testified on Monday. “It’s about the restoration of the park to its original historic state of a links golf course.”

Reyes and Abbe Lowell, a lawyer representing the preservation group, pressed NPS officials on why there was a rush to remove the trees if the management plan was finalized seven years ago.

Frank Lands, NPS’s deputy director of operations, testified that there was no “specific urgency,” describing the move as the “normal course of business” consistent with Trump’s executive order to beautify the nation’s capital.

Ahead of the hearing, The judge has barred the National Park Service from conducting any further work on the site until at least 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday while she weighs whether to issue a longer block. She warned of serious consequences if that order is violated.

“I’ve got at least 2-300 more trees that apparently are going to get cut down, and I have no faith that the government isn’t going to cut them down unless there’s an order in place not to do so,” Reyes said.

The Biden-appointed judge told Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers in May that they must provide notice to the preservation group of any plans to cut down more than 10 trees or perform other maintenance on the site. Dozens of additional trees deemed dead, dying or hazardous had already been removed.

Notice of Saturday’s work came just 12 hours before, the judge said.

“I have given the government the benefit of the doubt and every single time I have been clear that I wanted notice,” Reyes said, later adding that she was “furious” over what happened.

Griess, the superintendent for National Mall and Memorial Parks under NPS, testified under oath that he was not notified of the decision to move forward with tree removal until Oct. 8.

DOJ lawyer Marissa Piropato told the judge that there was “no conscious decision” to withhold information from the court and insisted the department was merely waiting for more details before it submitted its filing.

“None of that is an excuse,” Reyes said.