A federal judge sharply criticized Trump administration officials Monday over the removal of hundreds of trees from Washington, DC’s historic East Potomac Golf Links, saying the government had failed to provide adequate notice despite her previous instructions to notify the court before major work proceeded.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, repeatedly raised her voice during a hearing over work at the 106-year-old public golf course, according to Newsweek.
The government notified the court on October 9 that restoration work, including tree removal, would take place. Two days later, plaintiffs challenging the project said 529 trees had already been felled.
Reyes said the removal of more than 500 trees without adequate notice “has cost the government all of its credibility” in the case.
“I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,” Reyes said, adding that she was “at a total loss” to understand the government’s actions.
An attorney for the government said the administration had done its best to comply with Reyes’s previous orders requiring notice before trees were cut.
“No you did not do your best. You did your absolute worst,” Reyes responded.
When Justice Department attorneys said they had not known the details of the tree-cutting plan, Reyes replied, “Ignorance is not an excuse.”
Reyes ordered the tree removal halted through at least 7 a.m. Tuesday and warned that any violation of the order could result in contempt proceedings.
“If that order is violated by two seconds, there are going to be contempt proceedings,” she said.
Deputy National Park Service Director Frank Lands testified that he became aware of plans to cut the trees on October 5, at the direction of the Department of the Interior, five days before the work took place.
The court also heard that Lands had been told to implement recommendations from a 2019 National Park Service report “as soon as practical,” although he said he did not know why there had been sudden urgency.
Reyes questioned whether she had been given false information about the timing of conversations and plans surrounding the work.
“I’m beyond disappointed in the government right now,” she said.
The Department of the Interior defended the tree removal, saying the National Park Service was carrying out a plan developed years earlier.
“The National Park Service is finally implementing a 7-year-old plan to address tree overgrowth at East Potomac Golf Course,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Newsweek. “The work will include selective tree and vegetation work to restore the course.”
The spokesperson said the work was guided by the 2019 Cultural Landscape Report and was intended to restore the course’s historic character.
“NPS recognizes the importance of trees to the park and its visitors,” the spokesperson said. “This carefully planned work is part of our required stewardship of the park.”
The broader dispute involves plans to renovate East Potomac Golf Links into a championship-level golf venue. Individual golfers and the DC Preservation League have challenged the project, arguing that the government is moving ahead without complying with federal environmental and historic preservation laws.
Reyes had previously raised concerns that work could proceed before the court had an opportunity to intervene. During a July 2 hearing, she sought stronger assurances from the Trump administration and directed the parties to develop language ensuring that the court and plaintiffs would not suddenly learn in the “middle of the night” that bulldozers were at the course “chopping down cherry trees.”
At the time, Reyes declined to take formal action, saying, “I’m not going to assume the agency is going to act in bad faith.”