'I am thoroughly unamused': Judge slams Trump administration after 400 trees cut at Washington golf course

A US federal judge has sharply criticised the Trump administration for cutting down more than 400 mature trees at a Washington golf course over the holiday weekend, despite an earlier directive requiring officials to inform the court of major changes before carrying them out. During a contentious four-hour emergency hearing on Monday, Judge Ana C. Reyes of the Federal District Court in Washington ordered a temporary halt to further tree removal at East Potomac Golf Links until Tuesday afternoon. She also directed the proceedings to continue on Tuesday as she sought answers about who authorised the work and whether the decision was connected to the White House.

Judge Reyes instructed Justice Department lawyers to locate increasingly senior officials involved in the decision and have them testify immediately. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in redeveloping the publicly owned golf course in southeastern Washington into a luxury championship facility similar to courses associated with his private properties. “I am thoroughly unamused right now,” Judge Reyes said while appearing remotely from Istanbul, where she was travelling. She raised her voice repeatedly during the hearing.

“What has happened has cost the government all of its credibility with me in this case,” she said, referring to the numerous occasions on which she had instructed the administration to notify her of significant changes to the golf course. Although the hearing was formally convened to address the tree removal, the judge made clear that her primary concern was whether the administration had disregarded her previous instructions. Since Trump returned to the White House last year, judges in several cases have questioned whether the administration has complied with court orders.

Legal challenge over Trump’s golf course plans

The legal dispute started in February when two Washington residents and a preservationist organisation filed a lawsuit challenging the president’s stated plans to transform the affordable municipal golf course into a championship-level facility. In June, Trump was photographed visiting the property alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and prominent golf course architect Tom Fazio, who has designed several courses owned by the Trump Organization. The group was seen examining blueprints during the visit.

At a hearing in July, Judge Reyes, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, instructed the administration to notify the court before undertaking sudden changes at the site. She expressed concern about the pace of the redevelopment plans and warned that she did not want to learn about construction activities after it was too late to intervene. The judge said she did not want to find out work had begun too late to ‘stop the trains’.

More than 400 trees removed over the weekend

The controversy intensified on Friday evening when the Justice Department submitted documents indicating that the administration planned to remove 529 trees as part of a broader restoration project. By Saturday morning, machinery was already cutting down trees at the golf course. The government acknowledged during Monday’s hearing that more than 400 trees had been removed over the weekend in a single operation.

In a court filing late Sunday, lawyers representing the D.C. Preservation League asked Judge Reyes to prevent further work at the site. They noted that the government had indicated hundreds more trees remained scheduled for removal.

The filing prompted the judge to convene the emergency hearing. During the proceedings, Reyes said she had repeatedly given the administration the benefit of the doubt regarding its obligation to disclose plans for the course. She expressed frustration that the tree removal had proceeded while she was travelling.

When Justice Department attorney Marissa Piropato was unable to explain why officials had waited until Friday night to notify the court about work scheduled to begin the following day, the judge reacted angrily. “Ignorance is not an excuse here,” she said. At another point, Reyes told Piropato that what I find most frustrating about this, counsel, is that this is all double speak. The judge said she needed to establish the sequence of decisions that led to the removal of the trees and determine whether or not I’ve been lied to.

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National Park Service officials questioned

Kevin Griess, a National Park Service official responsible for overseeing public lands in Washington, testified that plans for the tree removal had been finalised on October 5. He said he received authorisation to proceed with the work over the weekend from Frank Lands, a deputy director at the National Park Service. Judge Reyes then ordered Lands to be located and brought before the court to explain his role.

Lands appeared remotely from his car in a parking lot. He told the court that he had formalised the renovation plans with Gregory Wischer, a Trump administration appointee at the Interior Department. Lands also acknowledged that he and Wischer had discussed Trump's ideas for transforming the site into a premier competitive golf course.

The judge subsequently ordered Wischer, a deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, to appear before the court. Piropato said officials had been unable to reach him. Reyes then ended the hearing for the day, directing that Wischer be prepared to testify as early as Tuesday morning. “We’re going to get him in here tomorrow,” she said.

Judge threatens contempt proceedings

As an immediate measure, Judge Reyes prohibited the administration from removing additional trees until 2 pm on Tuesday. She also said she would consider whether to suspend all work at the golf course for two weeks. She suggested that she intended to assess the situation gradually, saying she would try and take this step by step. The judge also ordered Griess, Lands and their staff members to preserve all records relating to the decision to remove the trees. She warned that any violation of her order could trigger serious legal consequences.

“I promise you, if that order is violated by two seconds, there are going to be contempt proceedings,” she said. Reyes expressed particular disappointment with the Justice Department because she had repeatedly declined to issue a formal injunction stopping the administration from carrying out work at the site, despite requests from the plaintiffs.

“I wanted you all to be better than you have been,” she told Piropato.