Judge Halts Tree Cutting at DC Golf Course
Is this a shameless end-run around the courts or long-overdue stewardship of overgrown parkland?
Above: East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sept. 4. Image credit: Finn Gomez/Getty Images
The Facts
- U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a temporary restraining order on Monday blocking the administration from removing any more trees at East Potomac Golf Links until 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday, after it cut down hundreds at the Washington course over the holiday weekend.
- During a nearly four-hour hearing, Reyes told Department of Justice lawyers they had "lost credibility" by notifying the court just before 5 p.m. Friday that cutting would begin the next day, adding, "There is no excuse for this."
- It comes days after the National Park Service (NPS) announced it would remove 529 trees and other woody vegetation it argued did not contribute to the golf course's "historic landscape," under recommendations first outlined in a 2019 report.
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The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
The administration's conduct has been nothing short of shameless. By dropping notice at 4:55 p.m. before a holiday weekend and then leveling hundreds of trees by sunrise, the administration sought to bypass the courts to pursue its agenda. This blatant violation of federal law costs the White House all credibility in these proceedings.
Pro-Trump narrative
The White House's plan to clear overgrown, non-native trees comes straight from the NPS' own recommendations adopted in 2019, well before any championship course was floated. Finally funding this long-delayed maintenance plan is good stewardship, especially when it preserves historic features, regardless of the courts' faux outrage.