Judge Ana Reyes orders 24-hour halt to tree cutting at Trump-linked DC golf course

Judge's emergency order at East Potomac Golf Links

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered a 24-hour halt to tree cutting at East Potomac Golf Links on Hains Point in Washington, D.C., during an emergency hearing on Monday. The order applies to work tied to the Trump administration's plans to remake the historic public golf course on National Park Service land.

Late-Friday notice and courtroom reaction

According to courtroom live-tweeting by journalist Scott MacFarlane cited in coverage, Reyes was angered that plaintiffs and the court received notice "at 4:55pm on a Friday of a holiday weekend" that "hundreds of trees are going to be chopped down." A government lawyer acknowledged that approximately 430 trees had already been cut down. Reyes told government attorneys, "You've lost credibility," and raised the prospect of contempt proceedings if further trees were removed without court approval.

Government's justification and scope of cuts

The administration maintains the removals implement a 2019 National Park Service landscape-restoration plan that predates Trump's redesign proposal for the links. East Potomac Golf Links sits on an island connected to the city proper by the Jefferson Memorial and Francis Case Bridge.

Judge's background in earlier Trump-administration clashes

Reyes, born in Uruguay and nominated by President Biden in 2023, has previously drawn a formal misconduct complaint from the Trump Justice Department over alleged bias, including comments during litigation challenging Trump's restrictions on transgender military service. In a 2025 case, Reuters reported, she ruled that Trump violated federal notice requirements when he fired several inspectors general but declined to reinstate them.