The Trump administration told a federal judge Thursday that 150 trees recently removed from East Potomac Park had been deemed hazardous, dead, dying or invasive, and that the work was routine maintenance, not the opening phase of President Donald Trump’s promised transformation of the historic public golf course.
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Trump has targeted East Potomac Golf Links, the area’s busiest public course, for an extensive overhaul aimed at creating a championship-caliber course capable of attracting major tournaments. He initially said work would begin this week, but major construction has not started and the course remains open. The plans have stirred fears among golfers, cyclists, runners and others who have long used the park for recreation.
The administration indicated Thursday that major construction is not imminent. A Justice Department attorney said the project must first undergo environmental and historic-preservation reviews, along with reviews by two federal planning bodies.
The disclosures came during a hearing in a lawsuit brought by preservationists and two local golfers seeking to block the course overhaul. But U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes raised the tree removal at the outset.
Reyes said that she had received “countless emails and voicemails” about the issue but that she had learned officially of the recent removals only minutes before the hearing, when attorneys challenging the project filed a notice with the court.
“I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees. I am a judge,” Reyes said, referencing the Dr. Seuss character who defends a forest from destruction.
At a previous hearing, Reyes indicated that the government should alert the court before removing more than 10 trees or undertaking major work. But she emphasized Thursday that she had not entered a formal order barring routine maintenance and did not intend to serve as a “parks and rec supervisor” overseeing the removal of dead or dying trees.
Michael Robertson, a Justice Department attorney, said 150 of the approximately 3,800 trees in East Potomac Park had been removed as of Tuesday. He said 77 were invasive species and the remaining 73 had been deemed dead, dying or hazardous.
The government has not publicly released its plans for the course, and Robertson said the tree removal was unrelated to the proposed redesign.
“There is no implementation of a new design,” Robertson said.
The National Park Service has identified additional trees that meet the same criteria and could be removed, Robertson said, though he did not provide a total.
Mark Samburg, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the government could have provided that information before the trees came down. Reyes, however, said she had no reason to doubt the government’s explanation and agreed that the work did not violate her earlier instructions.
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“What I said from the get-go, what I do not want is to be here with a fait accompli,” Reyes said. “I have made that very, very clear. … I am quite confident that the last thing Mr. Robertson wants to do is come up here and tell me that something has happened that’s irrevocable.”
She invited the plaintiffs to alert her if they find evidence that the government is removing live, healthy trees.
Trump announced in June that work on the course would begin Sept. 1. That date passed without the start of major construction, however, and the golf facility has remained open this week.
Robertson said the government would have notified the court if it was preparing for the “imminent” implementation of a new plan, but “that has not happened.” He said the project must go through historic-preservation and environmental reviews and then be considered by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.
East Potomac was not discussed at the planning commission’s meeting Thursday. Its next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 16.
The government also contends that recent Supreme Court decisions strengthen its argument that the East Potomac lawsuit should be dismissed. On Monday, the justices allowed construction of Trump’s White House ballroom to continue, concluding that the plaintiff, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, was unlikely to establish standing because it had not shown direct personal harm.
Justice Department attorneys say the same reasoning applies at East Potomac because the plaintiffs have not established a concrete injury.
But the lawsuit’s two individual plaintiffs say they are regular East Potomac golfers and contend that the proposed redesign would prevent them from continuing to use the park as they have in the past.
Reyes questioned whether the plaintiffs could establish standing in light of the rulings but said she first wants an amended complaint reflecting recent developments. The plaintiffs plan to file it by Sept. 12, after which the government can renew its request to dismiss the case.
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