US district judge Ana Reyes on Tuesday ordered a halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac golf course until 26 October, putting a further pause on work at the historic Washington DC course that has been part of Donald Trump’s plans to remake the country’’s capital city.

Reyes issued the order one day after a tense three-hour hearing in which she harshly criticized the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend.

At that hearing, Reyes ordered a 24-hour pause that could be extended to 14 days if necessary. It was limited to one day while the government tries to find a key Trump administration official to discuss why massive tree-cutting at the park needed to occur over the holiday weekend, with little notification to plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to halt renovation plans or to the judge.

The judge also ordered during that period that the government “must provide the court and plaintiffs three business days’ written advance notice prior to making any irreparable modification to any permanent form or feature of the East Potomac golf course”.

The president has moved to turn the course into a world-class golf venue amid separately tearing down storied structures, remaking or renaming others, and deploying the national guard in Washington DC since the beginning of his second presidency in early 2025.

Some residents fear the planned changes to the golf course – where Trump has visited with a cabinet member, a well-known golf course architect and blueprints – risk altering the character of a place that has served Washingtonians of all income levels for more than a century.

Those residents anticipate that turning the park into an upscale golf course will certainly mean costlier fees and a likely loss of public space.