Judge declares she’s ‘not the Lorax’ during hearing on Trump’s DC golf course renovation

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A federal judge on Monday lamented the anger and threats she has faced over the removal of trees as part of President Donald Trump’s controversial effort to turn a public golf course in Washington, DC, into a championship-level one.

But the discussion about the removal of the trees at the East Potomac Golf Course – which dominated a proceeding that ostensibly was about the case schedule – was ultimately resolved with Trump’s opponents accepting the government’s explanation that the trees were chopped down for routine reasons.

US District Judge Ana Reyes noted the irony that this year is America’s 250th birthday and “a president chopping down cherry trees” is a court matter, harkening back to an apocryphal story associated with President George Washington.

“People are pretty upset,” she noted, adding that she has received threats, including from someone who said he would remove her if she didn’t “save the trees.”

“I do not speak for the trees, I am not the Lorax” she said, referencing the famous Dr. Seuss book and character while echoing its cadence of lines, “I am a judge.”

The leadup to Thursday’s hearing involved weeks of concern, anger and speculation among locals and activists over the National Park Service’s removal of trees at the course beginning in late August.

Department of Justice lawyers revealed that about 150 trees – 77 invasive and 77 dead, dying or hazardous trees were cut down. There are around 3,800 trees in the park.

“Trees throughout the park are regularly monitored for potential safety impacts to visitors, and when a tree is determined to be dying, declining or hazardous our arborists may make the decision to remove it,” the Department of Interior told CNN in a statement.

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Shortly before the hearing, Trump’s opponents in the case submitted court declarations questioning the suggestions that the removed trees were rotting or a danger to players on the course.

However, during the hearing, the plaintiffs then backed down, saying they didn’t have reason to question the rationale for the tree’s removal.

Thursday’s hearing was scheduled as a status conference for the judge and parties to check in on where the litigation about the course should go next.

The administration has previously sought to dismiss the case. In court filings Wednesday, the Department of Interior pointed to recent rulings from the Supreme Court – siding with the administration in cases concerning the construction of the White House East Wing ballroom and an executive order on mail voting – and argued those rulings meant that the case should be thrown out.

Rather than deciding that request, the legal challengers are being given the okay to amend their earlier lawsuit to take into account those recent legal developments. Reyes indicated she would be willing to decide quickly whatever motion to dismiss the government may file then.

The DC Preservation League and two local golfers are pressing the judge to issue an order that would bar the Trump administration from moving ahead on the plan.

Reyes, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, has previously declined to block the work on the course because she was unconvinced that any laws had been broken.

Over the summer she instructed both sides to come to an agreement for the Trump administration to report on any new golf course activity to the court while initial stages of the litigation play out.

Reyes on Thursday expressed her satisfaction with how the government had kept her apprised, and was unwilling to order the administration to take additional steps to notify the legal challengers where the government was in the planning process for the course.

But she also voiced sympathy for the preservation league’s concerns that the administration could take a drastic action without any heads up that would be irreversible if a judge later found the action illegal.

“What I don’t want is to be here with a fait accompli,” Reyes said.

Trump, an avid golfer, first publicly proposed the idea in May about taking over and expanding the municipal golf course that sits on a 300-acre manmade peninsula just south of the National Mall.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum unveiled a rendering of the planned renovations from Fazio Design, a consultancy owned by the noted golf architect Tom Fazio, who designed Trump’s Bedminster golf course and three other of the president’s properties.

The Links currently offers two nine-hole courses and an 18-hole course.

“Like iconic public courses of Bethpage Black & Torrey Pines, East Potomac will offer locals — of the National Capital Region — championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted rates,” Burgum posted on X with a rendering of the Links plans .

Trump, Burgum and Fazio were photographed walking the course together in June, blueprints in hand.

Those plans have not yet been made publicly available, but appeared to have been updated and more expansive, with a nearly complete takeover of the entire peninsula. A playground, recreational area and a 9-hole course often used by more novice players have been jettisoned in favor of a single 18-hole course.

Trump said after the visit that the course was “dilapidated, worn out, and very dangerous and outdated.”

Speaking to Golf.com in June, Fazio said the president’s ambition is to upgrade the links to “literally a national monument,” where a national golf championship could be held.

“The president happens to be a guy of action,” Fazio said. “He wants to get this thing done so people can enjoy it, play it, and not one of these ‘10 years down the road and drag it out forever’ things. He wants to get it done now.”

The aim would be for the course to be ready for play by summer 2028, before Trump leaves office.

The administration has not yet brought plans before the two key federal agencies, the National Capitol Planning Commission (NCPC) and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), that review and approve major changes on federal property in Washington.

丹尼尔·休尔/路透社

周一，一位联邦法官对她因唐纳德·特朗普总统备受争议的将华盛顿特区的一个公共高尔夫球场改造成锦标赛级球场的计划而移除树木所面临的愤怒和威胁表示遗憾。

但关于移除东波托马克高尔夫球场树木的讨论——这场表面上是关于案件日程安排的听证会却被这一讨论占据了主导地位——最终以特朗普的反对者接受政府的解释而告终，即砍伐树木是出于例行原因。

美国地区法官安娜·雷耶斯指出，今年是美国建国 250 周年，而“总统砍伐樱桃树”却成了法庭案件，这颇具讽刺意味，让人想起与乔治·华盛顿总统有关的一个虚构故事。

“人们非常生气，”她指出，并补充说她收到了威胁，其中有人说如果她不“拯救树木”，他就会把她赶走。

“我不能代表树木说话，我不是罗拉克斯，”她引用了苏斯博士的著名书籍和人物罗拉克斯，并模仿着书中的台词节奏说道，“我是一名法官。”

在周四的听证会之前，当地居民和活动人士对国家公园管理局从 8 月下旬开始移除球场上的树木，已经表达了数周的担忧、愤怒和猜测。

司法部律师透露，约有150棵树被砍伐，其中77棵为入侵物种，77棵为枯死、濒死或危险树木。公园内约有3800棵树。

“公园内的树木会定期接受监测，以防对游客造成潜在的安全影响。如果发现树木正在枯萎、衰败或存在危险，我们的树木专家可能会决定将其移除。”美国内政部在一份声明中告诉 CNN。

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在听证会召开前不久，特朗普的反对者提交了法庭声明，质疑移除的树木正在腐烂或对球场上的球员构成危险的说法。

然而，在听证会上，原告们却退缩了，称他们没有理由质疑移除这棵树的理由。

周四的听证会是一次状态会议，法官和各方要了解有关该课程的诉讼下一步应该如何进行。

此前，政府曾试图驳回此案。周三提交的法庭文件中，内政部援引最高法院近期在白宫东翼宴会厅建设和邮寄投票行政命令等案件中支持政府立场的裁决，并辩称这些裁决意味着此案应被驳回。

法院并未对该请求作出裁决，而是允许诉讼挑战者修改其先前的诉讼，以纳入这些最新的法律进展。雷耶斯表示，她愿意迅速对政府届时可能提出的任何驳回动议作出裁决。

华盛顿特区文物保护联盟和两名当地高尔夫球手正在敦促法官发布命令，禁止特朗普政府推进该计划。

雷耶斯是前总统乔·拜登任命的官员，她此前曾拒绝阻止该课程的建设，因为她不相信有任何法律被违反。

在夏季期间，她指示双方达成协议，让特朗普政府在诉讼初期阶段向法院报告任何新的高尔夫球场活动。

雷耶斯周四表示，她对政府及时向她通报情况表示满意，但不愿命令政府采取进一步措施，告知法律挑战者政府在课程规划过程中的进展情况。

但她也对文物保护联盟的担忧表示同情，即政府可能会在没有任何预警的情况下采取极端行动，如果法官后来认定该行动违法，则这些行动将无法逆转。

“我不想让事情发展到既成事实的地步，”雷耶斯说。

特朗普是一位狂热的高尔夫球爱好者，他于 5 月份首次公开提出接管并扩建位于国家广场南部一个占地 300 英亩的人工半岛上的市政高尔夫球场的想法。

内政部长道格·伯古姆公布了由著名高尔夫球场设计师汤姆·法齐奥拥有的咨询公司 Fazio Design 设计的翻新计划效果图。汤姆·法齐奥曾设计了特朗普位于贝德明斯特的高尔夫球场以及总统的其他三处房产。

林克斯球场目前提供两个九洞球场和一个十八洞球场。

“就像贝斯佩奇黑球场和托里松球场这样的标志性公共球场一样，东波托马克球场将为首都地区的居民提供价格实惠、折扣力度很大的锦标赛级高尔夫球场，”伯格姆在X网站上发布了一张林克斯球场规划的效果图。

6 月份，有人拍到特朗普、伯格姆和法齐奥手持蓝图，一起走在球场上。

这些计划尚未公开，但似乎已经更新，规模更大，几乎完全占据了整个半岛。原先的游乐场、休闲区和一个常供新手使用的9洞球场已被取消，取而代之的是一个18洞球场。

特朗普在参观后表示，该球场“破旧不堪，非常危险且过时”。

法齐奥在六月份接受 Golf.com 采访时表示，总统的雄心壮志是将球场升级为“名副其实的国家纪念碑”，在那里可以举办全国高尔夫锦标赛。

“总统恰好是个行动派，”法齐奥说。“他想尽快完成这件事，让人们能够享受它、玩它，而不是像某些人那样，拖上十年，永远没完没了。他想现在就把它做好。”

目标是在 2028 年夏季，也就是特朗普卸任之前，使该球场做好开放的准备。

政府尚未将计划提交给两个关键的联邦机构——国家国会大厦规划委员会 (NCPC) 和美国美术委员会 (CFA)，这两个机构负责审查和批准华盛顿联邦财产的重大变更。