A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to remove her from the legal battle over President Trump’s planned overhaul of East Potomac Golf Links.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a 13-page opinion on Sunday denying the Department of Justice’s recusal motion and declaring that the government had failed to meet the demanding legal standard required for disqualification.
The ruling keeps Reyes in the case, which has rapidly become one of the most closely watched disputes over President Trump’s effort to transform Washington, D.C.’s historic public golf course. The decision followed hours after the president unveiled a concrete renovation plan for East Potomac Golf Links.
DOJ had accused Judge Reyes of displaying hostility toward administration lawyers and prejudging issues that had not yet been formally decided. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward filed the motion Friday night, requesting the case be reassigned.
In her memorandum opinion, Reyes noted she had repeatedly declined earlier requests to restrain government work at the course. Before the latest confrontation, the judge stated she had denied roughly a dozen requests by plaintiffs for any form of intervention.
That changed after federal officials gave notice late on the Friday of a holiday weekend that tree removal would begin within hours. According to the order, crews removed nearly 430 trees in one day before rain interrupted the work.
Reyes acknowledged she had been “furious” and “beyond disappointed” during the emergency hearing but concluded that a judge’s anger over events in a case does not, by itself, establish the deep-seated bias required for recusal. Her bottom line: DOJ had not carried its “heavy burden,” and the motion was denied.
The legal battle unfolds as President Trump moves his renovation vision from broad ambition to a detailed public timetable. The president has announced plans to close East Potomac Golf Links beginning November 15 for approximately 15 months. The project, developed by the Interior Department under Secretary Doug Burgum with golf-course architect Tom Fazio, aims to create an 18-hole championship course capable of hosting a major tournament.
The president stated that the rebuilt course would remain open to the public after completion. This announcement matters to the lawsuit because government lawyers had previously maintained there was no final agency action and described Trump’s plans as preliminary. Reyes ordered the government to clarify whether it still stood by that position after the new announcement.
While the renovation plan and tree-removal dispute are related, they are distinct issues. The administration claims the tree work is intended to restore the course’s historic landscape and address unhealthy or hazardous trees. Plaintiffs argue that clearing is tied to the larger redevelopment and should not proceed without required environmental and historic-preservation review.
Reyes has temporarily barred additional tree cutting through October 26. Her Sunday recusal ruling does not decide the ultimate merits of the renovation plan, nor does it permanently stop the project. This means the same judge will continue presiding over the case while those questions are litigated.
National Park Service planning materials identify the work as a cultural-landscape rehabilitation project covering East Potomac Golf Links and other park facilities. The agency opened a public-comment period in 2025 to evaluate changes to the federally owned site.
East Potomac’s golf landscape dates to the early twentieth century and has remained accessible to the public for generations. The course’s age, federal ownership, and historic character are central to plaintiffs’ arguments that major changes require environmental and preservation review.
This history explains why a dispute over tree removal quickly escalated into a high-stakes test of the administration’s renovation timetable. For the DOJ, the immediate result is a clear defeat: its effort to replace Reyes failed. For President Trump, the larger battle remains very much alive as he has now set a closure date, defined a construction window, and established a championship-course vision for the public.
The court, the administration, and the project’s opponents are heading into the next round with sharply defined stakes and a clear factual record.
