Washington:

US District Judge Ana Reyes on Tuesday ordered a halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course until October 26, putting a further pause on work at the historic DC course that has been part of President Donald Trump’s plans to remake the city.

Reyes issued the order one day after a tense three-hour hearing in which she harshly criticised 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 a 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 the judge.

The judge also ordered, during that period, 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.”

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