A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from cutting down a single additional tree at East Potomac Golf Links, the historic public course on the Potomac River the president wants transformed into a "World Class Championship" venue — and she used Dr. Seuss to explain why.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a 70-page preliminary injunction Monday blocking the National Park Service from "removing or damaging" any more trees at the course while a lawsuit over the renovation plays out, and ordered the government to give 10 days' notice before making any other irreversible change to the property.

"That Good Walk Spoiled"

The fight escalated earlier this month when the Park Service, filing notice with the court just minutes before the close of business on a holiday weekend, moved in and felled roughly 430 trees at the course in a single day — and would have taken down hundreds more if not for a rain delay, according to Reyes's ruling, as reported by CBS News. Reyes found the Interior Department's description of the work as routine "cleaning up" not credible, concluding instead that it was the opening move of Trump's redesign, done at breakneck speed because, in her words, the government did exactly what it had assured the court it would not do.

"THE COURT STILL DOES NOT SPEAK FOR THE TREES. IT SPEAKS ONLY FOR THE RULE OF LAW."

Reyes, who had previously told the parties "I am not the Lorax, I do not speak for the trees," wrote that she'd much rather not have to resolve what she called "Lorax v. Once-ler redux" — a nod to the Seuss villain who clear-cuts a forest for profit. She didn't spare the Justice Department either, writing that "rarely, if ever," has DOJ urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president, after government lawyers argued the case was premature even as Trump publicly described detailed construction plans.

The suit was brought by the D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers, who argued the administration skipped the environmental review required before overhauling the publicly owned course. Reyes agreed they're likely to win that claim.

Trump Fires Back

The president wasted no time responding on Truth Social, calling the ruling "unconstitutional," branding Reyes a "crazed lunatic" unqualified to weigh in on "golf, architecture, or construction," and insisting the course will still close for construction on Nov. 15 as planned, with work to begin "IMMEDIATELY" once appealed. The administration had already tried once this month to have Reyes removed from the case over alleged bias against Trump; she denied that request too.

For now, the injunction holds: no more trees come down, and the government has to tip off the court and the plaintiffs 10 days before touching anything else at the course. The underlying environmental-review claim, and the fate of Trump's championship-course ambitions, still have to be fought out in Reyes's courtroom — and an appeal from the White House is expected within days.