Judge Halts Trump Admin’s Destruction of Hundreds of Trees at Historic D.C. Golf Course

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes has put a temporary pause on the Trump administration’s efforts to cut down hundreds of trees at the historic East Potomac Golf Course in Washington, D.C.

According to RawStory, Reyes directed the government to halt “all tree removal” until 7 am Tuesday (October 13) or until she issues another order. She also scheduled a hearing for Monday morning (October 12) and ordered Kevin Griess, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, to tell her who gave the order for the tree removal.

Reyes’ order comes after the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers filed an emergency motion to stop the tree felling. The filing states that the government planned to remove 169 trees starting Saturday (October 10) and 90 more later, out of up to 529 total.

The plaintiffs said crews arrived by 8 am on Saturday and that the government told them all 529 trees would come down that morning, with hundreds more planned. By Sunday (October 11), the plaintiffs claimed the crews had felled the 529 trees and stopped only because of the weather.

Reyes halted the work because the plaintiffs were likely to suffer “immediate and irreparable harm.” She stated, “The removal of hundreds of trees from East Potomac Golf Course is permanent,” while a brief delay wouldn’t harm the government.

The filing claims the order to remove the trees stems from Trump’s plan to turn the public course into a championship-style venue. Griess denied the claims, saying the work “is not a renovation or redesign of the Golf Course” and swearing that no healthy cherry trees would be cut.

The Interior Department also said the Park Service is “finally implementing a 7-year-old plan” to tackle tree overgrowth at the golf course. The plaintiffs called it a cover story for Trump to proceed with his renovation project without the environmental review federal law requires.

“This is a tactic we’ve seen before from the Trump-Vance administration — act quickly to irrevocably alter a cherished national landmark, just to advance another one of President Trump’s pet vanity projects,” Skye Perryman, president and chief executive of Democracy Forward, said, per The Washington Post. “We are asking the court to act quickly before further unnecessary damage is done to a jewel of our national park system.”