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Federal judge halts tree cutting at Washington D.C.'s East Potomac golf course
The National Park Service began cutting hundreds of trees at the East Potomac Golf Links over the weekend as part of a Trump-backed renovation. On Oct 12, federal judge Ana Reyes ordered an immediate halt; the hearing continues Oct 13.
Why it matters
The National Park Service (NPS) began large-scale tree cutting on Saturday, Oct 10, at the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington D.C. — a renovation project backed by the Trump administration that plans to remove more than 500 trees. The cutting sparked public outrage, and conservation groups rushed to court over the weekend.
On Monday, Oct 12, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered an immediate halt to all tree-cutting after a roughly three-hour emergency hearing, freezing work until 7 a.m. Tuesday or until the court rules further, and requiring the government to give advance notice of any future cutting. From the bench, the judge blasted the government's lawyers as untrustworthy — "I am thoroughly unamused" — accusing them of cutting trees over the long holiday weekend in defiance of her May instructions, and warned she would begin contempt proceedings if the order were violated.
Full report
The hearing continues Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., and the judge said the freeze could be extended to 14 days if needed. It is a rare instance of a federal judge directly intervening in a capital park renovation, leaving the fate of the East Potomac project in limbo.
East Potomac Golf Links is managed by the National Park Service and is one of the few large public golf courses in downtown Washington. NPS says the renovation would improve course quality; opponents argue the mass tree removal is irreversible and the ecological cost too high. (Sources: AP, Reuters, 7News/WJLA, Oct 12, 2026.)
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