Golf Course Trees: Judge Extends Block on Washington Renovation

A federal judge on Monday extended an order blocking the government from cutting trees at the East Potomac Golf Course while a lawsuit over the project continues. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction barring removal or damage to any additional trees at the 106-year-old course. The government must provide 10 days' written notice before any "irreparable modification" to any "forms or features" of the course while the litigation is active.

The dispute centers on at least 400 trees that workers cut down over a holiday weekend with little notice to plaintiffs, according to the judge's account at a hearing. Reyes rejected the administration's request that she recuse herself from the case. The government had questioned her impartiality and accused her of "egregious" behavior from the bench during an emergency hearing. "The Court earlier stated, 'I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees.' The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law," Reyes wrote.

The plaintiffs are the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers who argue the work causes irreversible damage. Sky Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, serves as co-counsel for the plaintiffs. Perryman called the ruling "a big win that will rightly protect East Potomac Park from further irreparable harm" and said in an email that the move will stop activities "while the case continues, and we are eager to argue the case in court."

On Oct. 18, President Donald Trump announced on social media plans to close the golf course for 15 months beginning Nov. 15 and redevelop the site. The following day, he posted that work would start immediately. At Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Monday following a rally in Mississippi, Trump said the project "has the go-ahead" and added, "I didn't know she was an architectural critic of golf courses." He also said, "She knows nothing about that, so we'll appeal that," and described the renovation as a "beautiful project for Washington, D.C."

The renovation is part of a broader set of changes Trump has proposed for Washington, including a ballroom at the White House, an arch, and a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park. The D.C. Preservation League belongs to a coalition that includes the Cultural Landscape Foundation and one D.C. resident who have filed suit challenging those plans. Reyes, who was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden, previously ordered the administration to suspend work on the project until at least Oct. 26.