A federal judge has stopped more tree cutting at East Potomac Golf Links, for now

Why this affects you if you live in D.C.

East Potomac Golf Links sits on federal land at the southern tip of the National Mall peninsula, but it has functioned for decades as one of the few genuinely public outdoor spaces in a city full of expensive green space. Walkers, cyclists, weekend golfers, and families use it year-round. Now it sits partially stripped of its tree cover, and the question of who actually controls what happens there, the federal government or D.C. residents through the courts, is being litigated in real time.

Today, that question got a concrete, if temporary, answer.

What happened over the weekend

The Trump administration abruptly cut down more than 400 trees at Washington D.C.'s historic East Potomac Golf Links last weekend. The pace was stunning. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes had ordered the administration in May to get court approval before cutting down more than 10 trees at the golf course. Officials notified the court just before 5 p.m. on Friday of their plan to remove "up to 529 trees" in phases starting on Saturday, and had razed at least 430 by the end of the day.

That Friday filing was not much of a warning. National Mall and Memorial Parks Superintendent Kevin Griess said he had submitted a tree management plan on Monday, Oct. 5, and it was approved by Acting Director Jessica Bowron the next day. He testified that he received notice through staff on Oct. 8 that they would proceed with cutting down trees, and only spoke to Justice Department attorneys when he received the declaration for Saturday's work.

Preservationists and D.C. residents expressed anger about the tree removal. On Saturday morning, the sound of saws greeted anyone who showed up at the course. It was noisy for golfers at East Potomac Park on Saturday. The hum of saws filled the air as crews removed trees near the golf course. John, a D.C. resident who regularly uses the park, described it as "a sad sight to see. Very sad."

The judge's response: an emergency hearing and a halt

A federal judge on Monday rebuked the Justice Department after hundreds of trees were cut down at East Potomac Golf Links with little notice, telling government lawyers that they have "lost credibility." U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes held a nearly four-hour virtual hearing Monday and ordered Kevin Griess, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, to testify under oath about what led to the felling of 430 trees at the course, which President Trump wants to overhaul.

Reyes did not hide her frustration. "I've got at least two to 300 more trees that apparently are going to get cut down, and I have no faith that the government isn't going to cut them down unless there's an order in place not to do so," said Reyes, who has previously denied requests from the plaintiffs to order that work be halted.

By Tuesday, she had acted on that concern. A federal judge on Tuesday extended her order barring the Trump administration from carrying out any further tree removals at Washington's East Potomac Golf Course until at least Oct. 26, court records show.

She was not done expressing herself. In open court, Reyes said she was "more than just being upset and furious right now, I am just beyond disappointed in the government." She raised the possibility that the administration had deliberately maneuvered to cut as many trees as possible before plaintiffs could respond. She said the government "precisely intended to do precisely what it has done, which is intentionally delaying letting the plaintiffs in the court know what was happening, so they could put a plan in place to clear hundreds and hundreds of trees."

The judge has ordered testimony from two high-level officials with the Interior Department over the recent abrupt removal of trees, and plans to hold another hearing Oct. 19.

The government's position

Federal officials have maintained that the tree cutting is routine maintenance, not part of the contested renovation. Kevin Griess, the NPS superintendent, said in a court filing: "The planned tree management and cultural landscape rehabilitation project is not a renovation or redesign of the Golf Course, is not a part of any potential project to redesign or renovate the Golf Course, and would be carried out irrespective of any future renovation or redesign."

According to their testimony, the tree removal followed a meeting last week on Oct. 5 and the landscape changes fell under a 2019 Cultural Landscape Report. They argued that plan is separate from the Trump administration's proposal, which is facing legal challenges from the D.C. Preservation League and two residents.

The Justice Department offered little clarity on what comes next. Marissa Ann Piropato, deputy chief of the Justice Department, said she is "not aware of" future plans slated for the golf course following Saturday's tree-cutting.

Plaintiffs are skeptical of that framing. The D.C. Preservation League and two golfers said the Park Service has since acknowledged its original inventory missed hundreds of additional trees that are now slated for removal. According to the plaintiffs, only Sunday's rain prevented more trees from coming down.

A longer fight with deep D.C. roots

This is not a new conflict. At the end of 2025, the Trump administration prematurely terminated the lease agreement for the course and for the other two courses managed by the National Links Trust. In May 2026, Donald Trump proposed expanding the public course at East Potomac into an 18-hole professional course. He then committed to federal contracts, estimated at $20 million to $49 million, without notifying Congress.

The financial and community stakes go beyond the fairways. The National Links Trust said $8.5 million had gone toward capital improvements at the courses and that rounds played and revenue had more than doubled in their tenure managing the courses. They also added that the termination of the lease jeopardized hundreds of local jobs.

The history of these public courses matters too. As the Trump administration has hundreds of trees in East Potomac Park chopped down, some community members are rallying to save the park and its golf course, which has deep connections to the Civil Rights Movement. During the Civil Rights Movement, activists secured equal access to these public courses while private clubs continued to discriminate, noted Senator Tim Kaine in a letter sent earlier this year.

Senators raised concerns about reports that the Department of the Interior has terminated the National Links Trust's 50-year lease to operate Washington, D.C.'s three municipal golf courses, East Potomac, Langston, and Rock Creek, without adhering to required contractual notice and cure provisions. The Trust managed all three courses.

NPS officials offered one additional detail in testimony this week: the surge workforce working on East Potomac is not a regular crew. Griess said that due to America 250 events in D.C., the NPS received funding for a "surge workforce" of about 40 NPS personnel for beautification efforts in the city under Trump's order, and they were assigned to work on the East Potomac Golf Course just last week. That is the workforce that felled the trees.

What D.C. residents should watch

• Oct. 19 hearing: Judge Reyes has scheduled a follow-up hearing at which Interior Department officials must provide further testimony. That session could determine whether the halt extends past Oct. 26 or whether any additional tree removal is permitted at all before the legal case resolves.
• The renovation lawsuit: The D.C. Preservation League's underlying case against the Trump administration's redevelopment proposal is still active. The outcome will determine whether the championship-level course project moves forward or gets blocked permanently.
• Langston and Rock Creek: East Potomac is one of three D.C. public courses whose management leases were terminated. Residents who use Langston Golf Course in Northeast, which also has a documented civil rights history as one of the first public courses desegregated in the region, are watching whether similar removals or changes come there next.
• The Oct. 26 deadline: The federal judge extended her order barring the Trump administration from carrying out further tree removals at D.C.'s East Potomac Golf Course until at least Oct. 26. What happens that day depends on what the Oct. 19 hearing produces.

On the course Tuesday afternoon, the stumps were still visible from the cart path.

Sources

• NPR, Oct. 13, 2026: "A judge blocks the government's tree-clearing spree at a municipal D.C. golf course"
• WTOP, Oct. 12, 2026: "Federal judge extends pause on tree-cutting at East Potomac Golf Links"
• CBS News, Oct. 12, 2026: "Judge chastises Justice Department lawyers after hundreds of trees cut down at D.C. golf course"
• ABC News, Oct. 13, 2026: "'Furious' judge extends order barring Trump administration from removing more trees"
• WUSA9, Oct. 13, 2026: "East Potomac Golf Course tree removal must stop temporarily"
• NBC Washington: "East Potomac Park trees: Furious judge orders stop after 400 cut"
• Washington Post, Oct. 12, 2026: "'Furious' judge halts tree removal, demands answers on Trump's D.C. golf plan"
• CNN, Oct. 10, 2026: "Crews begin clearing 169 trees at DC golf course Trump plans to convert"