A federal judge hearing testimony Monday on President Donald Trump's plans to redevelop a Washington golf course expressed deep skepticism over the government's contention that the recent mass cutting of trees at East Potomac Park and the plans for a new golf course were not connected.

"There is no universe in which all of this coincidentally happened all at the same time," U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during a contentious hearing over the fate of a project that is a key feature of Trump's campaign to leave his personal imprint on the nation's capital.

Reyes last week ordered a halt to the golf course's redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.