Judge presses federal government on East Potomac takeover despite Trump attacks

A federal judge on Monday pressed the Trump administration about President Trump’s plan to shut down and renovate East Potomac Park next month despite a previous court order barring any future work at the property while a lawsuit to stop it plays out.

Trump in a Truth Social post just minutes before Monday’s hearing in Washington court began argued that his administration does not need approval from the court to move ahead with the controversial redevelopment, which includes a total revamp of East Potomac Golf Links and the erasure of miles of walking and biking trails on the island.

The president attacked U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes directly in a separate social media post over the weekend, calling her “insane,” while attorneys for the Department of Justice separately moved for her to recuse herself from presiding over a lawsuit brought by local preservationist groups seeking to halt the work.

Reyes at a hearing last week scolded lawyers for the federal government, which carried out massive tree culling and excavating at the Hains Point location without providing what the judge said was proper notice.

On Monday, she again pressed Department of the Interior officials about their knowledge of plans for the historic site, which Trump said in his social media posts were already in place and set to begin on Nov. 15 when the current golf courses there would be closed.

“There is no universe in which all of this just coincidentally happened at the same time,” Reyes said more than an hour into the proceedings.

Gregory Wischer, the deputy chief of staff for the Department of the Interior, testified that he learned of the “tree management plan” on Oct. 5, and it was part of a slate of D.C. beautification projects being undertaken by the administration.

The lawsuit brought by the D.C. Preservation League and individual golfers, challenges the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul the historic golf courses, which sit on National Park Service land, as unlawful.

East Potomac is used daily by thousands of golfers, bikers and joggers and is seen as a rare affordable option catering to junior and beginner golfers.

Trump’s plans include an 18-hole championship-style facility capable of hosting professional tournaments and designed by leading golf course architect Tom Fazio.

The president over the weekend described current playing conditions at East Potomac as “dangerous” and argued his redevelopment push would inject millions of dollars into the local D.C. community.

Workers removed several hundred trees from the park last weekend as part of what federal officials described as a precursor to restoring the course to its historic design and in line with a 2019 Cultural Landscape Report.

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

Asked by Reyes on Monday whether there were any “falling, dangerous and disease-infested trees” remaining on the course, Griess testified that there may have been a “few” prior to last Saturday’s work, but he was unsure about the current situation.

The Justice Department has contended in court filings that the court lacks authority to intervene because the plan has not yet been finalized and does not fall within the scope of “agency action” as defined in the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).

“An agency’s redesign of its facilities does not qualify,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. wrote. “Just as a decision to redesign all the art exhibits in a Smithsonian Museum would not be agency action, neither would a decision to redesign a golf course, or to trim trees, replace fences, expand the fairways, or mow the lawn.”

That filing was signed only by Woodward, and Reyes demanded to know at the outset of the hearing whether any line prosecutors were willing to attach their names. Woodward argued that was “untenable” and inappropriate, but the judge did not relent.

The judge and Abbe Lowell, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, pressed Wischer and Jessica Brown, NPS acting director, on the project’s timeline.

Attorneys for the government repeatedly said they were not aware of impending work planned for the property and argued any such redevelopment would not constitute an official agency action.

“I don’t know what to do when I keep getting different stories from the government,” Reyes, growing frustrated at times, said at one point during Monday’s hearing.

DOJ attorneys asserted attorney-client privilege multiple times during Monday’s testimony, also arguing that officials’ pre-decisional and deliberative communications should be protected from disclosure. Attorneys also sought to shield any communications directly involving Trump on executive privilege grounds.

Reyes said she was “very sensitive” about DOJ’s claims, redirecting the questioning from Lowell at times. She has asked for additional briefings on the issue from both sides.

Late Sunday, Reyes rejected the Justice Department’s demand to disqualify her from the proceedings for violating “basic norms” of fairness, neutrality and impartiality.

The judge called the motion “baseless,” writing in a 13-page order that the government had failed to meet the “demanding legal standard” for recusal.

Reyes is weighing a possible extension to a temporary restraining order barring further work at East Potomac despite Trump’s announced plans.