"The court still does not speak for the trees," U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote in her order, filed in the district court for the District of Columbia. "It speaks only for the rule of law."
More than 400 trees already cut down
The ruling centers on the East Potomac Golf Course, a beloved but modest public course in Washington, D.C., that Trump wants to turn into a championship-level course. The renovation is one of the projects Trump is pursuing to reshape landmarks in the U.S. capital.
In recent weeks, the administration cut down more than 400 trees on the grounds with little notice, according to CNN. Two weeks earlier, Reyes had called the removal of hundreds of trees during a prior weekend "inexcusable."
Her new 70-page opinion barred the government from "removing or damaging additional trees" on the course. It also ordered the government to provide 10 business days of written advance notice before it makes any "irreparable modification" at the park, pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
"The events surrounding this case have become extraordinary," Reyes wrote on Monday. "The Government appears to have set the timing of the tree removal and late notice to impede Plaintiffs' ability to seek Court intervention. And its recent actions call into question other representations it has made to the Court over these many months."
Reyes said she was forced to act now "because the Government did what it assured all it would not do."
Trump called the judge a "lunatic"
Last week, Trump said his administration would begin renovation work immediately, despite the judge's order that work could not proceed without prior notice to the court. In an online post, he declared his administration had "an absolute right" to proceed, while blasting the judge as a "lunatic" and calling the lawsuit "ridiculous."
The DC Preservation League sued in February to halt the takeover, on the grounds that it would violate environmental laws and "irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history."
Reyes said the government had asked her to disregard Trump's statements about the renovation plans.
"Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president," Reyes wrote.
"This started as a case about golf," she added. "But it has become much more."
The ruling is a major setback for Trump's efforts to overhaul the course, and it sets the stage for an appeals court battle in a case that has produced sharp confrontations between the administration and the federal bench in Washington.
Sources: Reuters, 27 Oct 2026; CNN, 26 Oct 2026.