U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Sunday rejected the Justice Department's demand that she step aside from a high-stakes hearing over the future of East Potomac Park, where President Trump envisions a championship-caliber golf course. In a 13-page opinion, Reyes called the recusal motion baseless and said the government failed to meet the demanding legal standard.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by a preservationist group and individual golfers challenging Trump's renovation plans as unlawful. Tensions flared after the administration informed Reyes on a Friday afternoon that hundreds of trees would be felled that weekend. Reyes erupted at a government attorney, expressing fury that she received no additional notice, and later blocked further tree clearing.
The Justice Department accused Reyes of bias, citing her heated rhetoric—including a remark asking a government lawyer whether they could use a phone or drive a car—and her insistence that Trump administration witnesses testify on a federal holiday. The DOJ claimed she violated "basic norms" of judicial impartiality.
Reyes, a Biden appointee, pushed back sharply. "It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion," she wrote. "But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record." She added, "By any objective measure, the Government fails to meet the standard for recusal."
Trump escalated the feud early Monday, writing on Truth Social: "The judge on the case is a crazed lunatic whose courthouse tapes will reveal, may be insane?" The president also unveiled a new plan for the site on Sunday, underscoring his personal investment in the project.
The case has been simmering for months, but the tree-clearing episode brought it to a boil. Reyes has said she was disappointed and furious that the government proceeded without giving her more notice, and she has since barred any additional landscaping. The Justice Department's recusal motion also objected to her demands that administration witnesses appear on a federal holiday.
In her defense, Reyes wrote: "The Government created an emergent situation. The Court responded." Her refusal to step aside means she will preside over Monday's key hearing, where the fate of East Potomac Park—and Trump's golf course ambitions—will be argued.
The legal fight has drawn attention from Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have demanded probes into other Trump administration actions, such as a Ukraine Starlink outage and a Pentagon role in the cutoff. Meanwhile, the administration's push for the golf course continues, with Trump's ambitious East Potomac plan facing mounting legal hurdles.
Reyes' decision to stay on the case ensures that the showdown over the park's future will proceed under her gavel, setting the stage for further clashes between the judiciary and the executive branch.
