A federal judge in Washington, D.C., told the U.S. government Monday to pause tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course—located within East Potomac Park—while a legal dispute over a planned Trump administration renovation plays out in court. Judge Ana Reyes said she would not issue a temporary restraining order at this stage, but she still set limits that the government must follow. She also said she wanted the case to proceed without her stepping into an administrative role, while making clear she did not want trees bulldozed.
Reyes made the remarks during a remote hearing in a case brought by the DC Preservation League. The hearing followed the group’s emergency petition seeking to stop work at the course, citing news reports that major renovations were expected to begin Monday.
In court, Reyes addressed the government’s tree-cutting plans directly. She told U.S. government officials not to cut down more than 10 trees without first providing notice. She said the National Park Service should first discuss any plans with government lawyers if it intended to cut more than 10 trees, and she declined to issue broader stop-work relief in the immediate term.
The hearing also included discussion of whether work was planned to begin that day. Kevin Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks for the Park Service, told the court that there was no plan to begin such work Monday but said a safety assessment was underway.
Reyes referenced her view of the role she should play in the dispute, saying she did not want to act like a parks department that would manage day-to-day operations. She said, “I’m no Amy Poehler,” referring to the sitcom star, in an apparent attempt to keep the court’s role focused on legal questions rather than operational decisions.
During the session, Reyes said she had been made aware that closure signs had been put up at the site. Griess then asked someone to check, and he later reported there were no such signs. Reyes told the parties that if any signs were found, the government’s attorney should be told.
The underlying complaint, filed against the Department of the Interior, says the Trump administration’s reconstruction of East Potomac Park—including the East Potomac Golf Course—would violate the congressional act that created the park in 1897. The act established the park for “recreation and the pleasure of the people,” while the course opened in 1919. A separate thread in the dispute is whether the planned changes can proceed under that governing framework.
Trump has previously said he is an avid golfer, and the administration also plans to renovate a military golf course outside Washington that has been used by past presidents for decades. In Monday’s hearing, however, the judge’s near-term focus remained on whether the government would provide notice before cutting more than 10 trees as the legal challenge moves forward.