U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Monday ordered a 24-hour halt to tree-cutting at East Potomac Golf Course, the historic Washington course that figures in President Donald Trump’s plans to remake the city.
She acted after a tense three-hour hearing in which she accused the government of deceiving her through what it did over the holiday weekend. The order could be extended to 14 days if needed. She kept it to one day while the government tries to find a key administration official who can explain why a massive tree-cutting had to happen that weekend, with little warning to the plaintiffs suing to stop the renovation or to the judge.
A blistering opening
Reyes opened with a 15-minute statement. “I am thoroughly unamused right now,” she said. “I do not know how I could have made it any plainer that I did not want what was to happen, to happen.” She added that she had given the government “every single benefit of the doubt” that it would not do exactly what it did.
To the government’s lawyers she was blunter still: “I wanted you all to be better than you have been.”
The judge has repeatedly turned down the plaintiffs’ motions to stop work, but she has worried that the administration’s approach is to push ahead on projects despite court action. The emergency hearing, held on a holiday, grew longer when she ordered the government to bring various people involved in the decision-making into the courtroom remotely.
Who Reyes wants to hear from
Another hearing is set for Tuesday. Reyes wants testimony from Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department. According to testimony from Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the National Park Service, Wischer pushed for the work to be done urgently.
The Associated Press described the episode as the latest example of eroding trust between the government and an independent judiciary, as the administration tries to brush aside scrutiny of everything from the White House ballroom to immigration enforcement.
