Judge extends halt on tree removal after Park Service cut about 430 trees at D.C. golf course
The government told the court just before 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, the start of a holiday weekend, that cutting would start Saturday, Oct. 10, at East Potomac Golf Links, which Trump wants to remake.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes told Justice Department lawyers they had "lost all credibility," ordered officials to testify, and will require 3 days' notice before any further work at the course.
The plan and who pushed it:
- The administration says the cutting carries out a 2019 Park Service landscape plan that predates Trump's redesign; the full plan removes 529 trees.
- Park Service deputy director Frank Lands testified that Interior deputy chief of staff Greg Wischer directed the work, and Reyes wants Wischer on the stand.
- Lands on the timeline: "Yes, a week is fast. And I'm proud of the fact that we were able to move so quickly."