Justice Department Seeks To Disqualify Biden-Appointed Judge Over ‘Animosity for the Trump Administration’

The Trump administration is pushing for the removal of the judge overseeing the legal battle over President Trump’s plans to renovate a public golf course at Washington D.C.In a filing on Friday evening, attorneys for the government asked to disqualify the federal judge, Ana Reyes, insisting she had displayed “disdain” for the Trump administration in a ruling earlier in the week and that her attitude had influenced her decision. On Tuesday, Judge Reyes, a Biden appointee, had temporarily blocked the government from cutting down more trees at the scenic municipal golf course, which sits on a manmade island in the Potomac River. At a hearing a day before the order, Judge Reyes had said she was “furious” with government attorneys, whom she said had ruined their credibility after having previously assured her that she would receive ample notice before any major changes at the course were made.In a filing on Friday evening, attorneys for the government saidJudge Reyes “has unfairly questioned Trump Administration attorneys’ intelligence, allowed her disdain for the Trump Administration to influence how hearings unfold, and systematically disregarded basic separation of powers principles and Article III constraints on judicial authority.” Attorneys for the government asked that the case be assigned to a different district court judge “who has not demonstrated open hostility towards Defendants by prejudging the outcome of motions that are yet to be filed, summoning witnesses with no notice on federal holidays, calling witnesses to appear to testify at hearings on motions that have yet to be filed, and for violating the basic norms that a judge be a fair, neutral, and impartial arbiter.”Beyond accusations of animosity toward the administration, the filing also accused the judge of referring to herself and attorneys for the preservation groups that sought to block renovations at the golf course as “we.”“Judge Reyes’s histrionics in prior hearings have clearly demonstrated she is no longer impartial,” the government said. The filing also asked the court to release an audio recording of the hearing earlier this week “to allow the American people to fully appreciate Judge Reyes’s animosity for the Trump Administration.”The flare-up was kicked off by an October 9 notice sent by the Justice Department that said the National Park Service would be cutting down 500 trees over the holiday weekend. The administration insisted that the tree removal work was not connected to Mr. Trump’s vision for the golf course and was instead connected to “maintenance activities” that were recommended in 2019. However, attorneys for the D.C. Preservation League, which has sued to block the redevelopment of the golf course, argued that the work was not connected to maintenance and that there should have been no rush to abruptly carry out a recommendation from 2019. They also noted that the president’s plans for the golf course include “massive tree-clearing.”During the hearing on Columbus Day, Judge Reyes harshly criticized the Trump administration over the timing of the notice that the trees would be removed, which came minutes before the court closed on the previous Friday. “I was hearing from everyone on plaintiffs’ side this was going to happen,” she told the administration lawyers. “I said repeatedly, ‘No, I trust the government.’ I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done.”“What has happened has cost the government all of its credibility,” Judge Reyes said. The judge also rebuked a government attorney, Marissa Paripato, during the hearing, telling her, “You did not do your best. You did your absolute worst.”The administration’s latest filing alleges that Judge Reyes’s “disdain” extends beyond the golf course case. It said that in a February 2025 hearing, she accused the administration of “literally erasing transgender people.” She also asked what “Jesus would say to telling a group of people that they are so worthless, so worthless that we’re not going to allow them into homeless shelters? Do you think Jesus would [say], ‘Sounds right to me?’ Or do you think Jesus would say, ‘WTF? Of course, let them in.’”The filing was signed by the associate attorney general, Stanley Woodward, the third-highest ranking office at the Justice Department. Mr. Trump has tried to have other judges removed from cases. In March, he said a federal judge, James Boasberg, should be “removed from all cases pertaining to us, and suffer serious disciplinary action” due to his “open, flagrant, and extreme partisan bias and contempt against Republicans and the Trump Administration.”Judge Boasberg has overseen several high-profile cases since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term. In 2025, the judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to swiftly deport Venezuelan migrants. He launched a contempt investigation into administration officials, accusing them of violating his order to stop those deportations. A federal appeals court is weighing whether Judge Boasberg has the authority to continue his investigation.

Justice Department Seeks To Disqualify Biden-Appointed Judge Over ‘Animosity for the Trump Administration’

Justice Department Seeks To Disqualify Biden-Appointed Judge Over ‘Animosity for the Trump Administration’

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