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Update: Judge Reyes cites 'a strong showing of bad faith' at East Potomac golf hearing after rejecting DOJ's bid to remove her

Published 5:00 PM CT, Monday, October 19, 2026 · Updated 6:06 PM CT
In the 5 PM CT update

At a contentious hearing Monday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said there appeared to be 'a strong showing of bad faith' in the government's reliance on a 2019 landscape report to justify removing more than 500 trees from East Potomac golf course over Columbus Day weekend, ABC News reported. Overnight, Reyes denied a Justice Department motion to disqualify her for alleged political bias, and President Trump attacked her on social media before the hearing. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward clashed with Reyes and said he would instruct DOJ lawyers not to answer her question about why none had signed his briefs, and Reyes ordered him to file a brief by 3 p.m. explaining that instruction.

• East Potomac Golf Links
• Ana Reyes
• Justice Department
• Stanley Woodward
• National Park Service
• Interior Department
• Donald Trump
• Washington DC
• Federal courts
• United States