Judge Blocks Trump Admin's Golf Course Tree-Cutting

2 min read

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from cutting down additional trees at Washington, D.C.’s historic East Potomac Golf Course, ruling that the stated forestry goals were a pretext for the president’s plan to convert the public course into a championship tournament venue. The 70-page opinion from Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes highlighted the unusual divide between Trump’s public declarations about the golf course and the Justice Department’s (DOJ) efforts to distance itself from those statements in court.

Divide Between Public Statements and DOJ Efforts

Reyes noted that rarely, if ever, has the DOJ urged a federal court not to believe the sitting President. The administration argued that the project remained in an informal planning phase, despite Trump’s public assertions. Work began in October 2025, with soil and debris from White House renovations dumped onto the course, and a surge workforce started clearing dead and invasive trees in May 2026. The work escalated in October 2026 when nearly 430 healthy, mature trees were removed less than 18 hours after filing notice with the court.

Plaintiffs Argue Historic Damage

The plaintiffs, including the DC Preservation League, claimed the administration was irreversibly damaging a historic landscape by turning a working-class and family-oriented golf course into an elite tournament facility while ignoring red tape. The DOJ spent months arguing that the court had no reason to interfere, as no final plan existed and the project was still in an informal “conceptual phase.”

Trump’s Public Push for the Project

Trump took the plans to Truth Social, announcing the plan to build a “World Class Championship Golf Course” on the site. He emphasized the deteriorating state of the original course and predicted a fully operational course in 15 months. However, he moved the deadline up, calling for the work to “begin IMMEDIATELY!”

Judge Orders Further Action

Reyes, whom Trump referred to as a “crazed lunatic,” said that the claims made by the president countered the claims made by the DOJ. The judge ordered the government to show cause by Wednesday as to why the court should not formally order it to preserve all records and communications related to the project and the tree removal. The administration is expected to appeal the injunction as the broader lawsuit proceeds.

Source: Daily Caller