Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt work for a day on
historic DC golf course
[October 13, 2026]
By GARY FIELDS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Monday ordered a
24-hour halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course, a historic
D.C. course that has been part of President Donald Trump’s plans to
remake the city.
Reyes issued the order following a tense three-hour hearing in which she
harshly criticized the government for having deceived her with its
actions over the holiday weekend.
Reyes said the 24-hour temporary order could be extended to 14 days if
necessary. It was limited to one day while the government tries 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.
It’s the latest example of the erosion of trust between the government
and the independent judiciary, as the Trump administration tries to
steamroll scrutiny of its actions, from the White House ballroom to
immigration enforcement.
The hearing started with a blistering 15-minute statement from Reyes,
who has declined repeated motions from the plaintiffs to halt work by
the administration out of concern that its strategy has seemed to be
move ahead on projects despite court actions.
“I am thoroughly unamused right now," Reyes said. “I do not know how I
could have made it any plainer that I did not want what was to happen,
to happen.” The judge added, “I have given the government every single
benefit of the doubt that it would not do precisely what it has done.”
She told the government's lawyers sharply, “I wanted you all to be
better than you have been.”
The emergency hearing on a holiday expanded as the judge ordered the
government to get various participants in the decision-making process
into the hearing remotely.
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Golfers tee off near log sections cut and tree stumps at the East
Potomac Golf Links, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Reyes plans to hold another hearing Oct. 19 and wants to hear from
Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, and
Jessica Bowron, acting director of the National Park Service.
Wischer pushed for the work to be done urgently, according to
testimony from Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the
National Park Service. Lands said Bowron had also had a role.
Reyes and plaintiff’s attorney Abbe Lowell raised numerous questions
about the timeline and chain of command for the decision and whether
the witnesses were aware of other plans by the administration.
Kevin Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial
Parks, cited a 2019 National Park Service Cultural Landscape Report
as the guide for the work.
Lands said it was part of Trump’s 2025 order to make D.C. safe and
beautiful. Under questioning from Reyes, he acknowledged that while
other city golf courses were also mentioned in the Cultural
Landscape Report, there had been no discussions of work at them.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.
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