A federal judge in Washington on Monday extended her order blocking the Trump administration from cutting more trees at East Potomac Golf Course, the century-old public course that President Donald Trump wants to rebuild, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the course, the AP reported. The order also requires the administration to give 10 days’ written notice before making any “irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” of the course while the lawsuit is active, according to the AP.
Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction on Monday to stop further tree clearing on the East Potomac Golf Links, unless there is an imminent threat to public safety, while litigation is ongoing https://t.co/YiZ2Hpon1F
— WSJ Politics (@WSJPolitics) October 27, 2026
Reyes leaned on a children’s book to explain herself. “The Court earlier stated, ‘I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees.’ The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law,” she wrote, as quoted by the AP.
The judge also took aim at the government’s legal argument. According to the AP, Reyes expressed astonishment that the administration asked her “not to believe the sitting President” and to disregard Trump’s own public statements about his plans for the course. “This started as a case about golf. That good walk spoiled. But it has become much more,” she wrote, the AP reported.
How the fight got here
The dispute erupted over the Columbus Day weekend. NPR reported that officials notified the court just before 5 p.m. on a Friday of a plan to remove “up to 529 trees” in phases starting the next day, and that crews had taken down at least 430 by the end of Saturday. Reyes had ordered the administration in May to get court approval before cutting down more than 10 trees at the course, according to NPR.
Reyes then issued a short-term restraining order, which she extended through Oct. 26, NPR reported. The Wall Street Journal reported that the new injunction stops further tree clearing unless there is an imminent threat to public safety. Monday’s preliminary injunction replaces that temporary order as the lawsuit moves forward, according to the AP.
The administration’s side
The Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service, has defended the broader effort. “President Donald J. Trump is fulfilling his commitment to make D.C. Safe and Beautiful as shown by the working fountains, clean parks and safe streets across the district for the first time in decades,” the department said in a statement, according to NPR. The department also told NPR it is committed to keeping the city’s courses “safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, accessible, and world-class.”
A National Park Service official said in a court filing that renovation plans “remain in the conceptual stage,” NPR reported. Trump has said he wants to turn the course into a championship-level venue, according to NPR.
For now, the tree removal stays on hold. Any major change to the course will have to clear a 10-day notice window and the court’s review while the case continues, according to the AP.
Sources
- Associated Press: Judge extends block on Trump’s renovation of DC public golf course
- FOX 5 DC: Judge extends block on Trump administration’s renovation plans
- NPR: Judge blocks Trump’s East Potomac Golf Course tree clearing
- WSJ Politics on X
Sources cited
Sources
- Original post: WSJ Politics (@WSJPolitics) on X, Oct 26, 2026
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