Category: Trump administration — Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division Role: Career trial attorney, Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD); government counsel of record in DC Preservation League v. Department of Interior (D.D.C.), the East Potomac Golf Course tree-removal case Subject classification: Career federal attorney, in scope for her conduct as counsel of record for the United States Priority: not assigned — no sanction, show-cause order, candor finding or referral against her personally appears in the court record reviewed (through October 23, 2026)

Role

Marissa Piropato is a career trial attorney in the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. She represents federal agencies in environmental, public-lands and tribal litigation, and has appeared as counsel of record in federal cases since at least 2009 (source 1). In 2026 she was government counsel in *DC Preservation League v. Department of Interior*, No. 1:26-cv-00477 (D.D.C.), the challenge to the National Park Service’s removal of roughly 430 trees at East Potomac Golf Course on October 10, 2026 (sources 6, 7, 8).

Background

• Career, not political. CourtListener lists her as counsel on dockets spanning 2009 to

2026 — four administrations of both parties — predominantly federal-defendant environmental, public-lands and tribal matters (source 1). Party listings give her affiliation as “U.S. Department of Justice, Enrd” (source 2) and, in 2015, “US Department of Justice” alongside ENRD’s Natural Resources Section (source 3). The Justice Department’s Legal Careers page lists her as an ENRD alternate contact for the Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program, the Department’s career-hiring channels (source 4). No nomination or political-appointment record was found; the OPM Plum Book was not checked.

• Bar service. She is listed on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Advisory Council,

Takings / Tribal Claims committee (source 5) — a bar-advisory role, not a judgeship.

• Her exact section title within ENRD is not confirmed by an official source.

Basis for Inclusion Subject classification: Career federal attorney — not elected, not Senate-confirmed, not a political appointee. Basis: Citizen Analyst’s editor ruled on November 4, 2026 that a Justice Department attorney who appears as counsel of record, in their official capacity, in a matter a profile covers is in scope as a public official for that conduct, and that the profile must cite the docket and stay within that conduct. This profile covers Piropato’s appearances as government counsel in DC Preservation League v. Department of Interior, No. 1:26-cv-00477 (D.D.C.), and nothing beyond them. Evidence basis: the case docket and Judge Ana C. Reyes’s October 13, 2026 memorandum opinion (Dkt. 79), both read in full (source 8); contemporaneous reporting of the October 12 hearing (sources 6, 7, 9). What is NOT the basis for inclusion: her personal views, her private life, and her earlier caseload. Representing the United States in a case a court criticizes is not, by itself, misconduct, and this profile does not characterize it as such.

Democratic Malice Assessment

Designation: No DMA designation

Not scored. Representing the United States in litigation falls inside the Ideology Safe Harbor (“holding a position in an administration and executing lawful orders”) absent documented personal misconduct, and none is documented.

Documented Actions

1. Government counsel at the October 12, 2026 emergency hearing in DC Preservation League

The government first notified the court and the plaintiffs of the tree-management plan just before 5 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026; the Park Service removed roughly 430 trees the next day (sources 7, 8). At a hearing of almost four hours on October 12, Judge Reyes rebuked the Justice Department over that notice. CBS News reports she told Piropato she was “furious,” that “You did your absolute worst” was said of the Justice Department’s efforts to notify the court and plaintiffs, and that she told government lawyers they had “lost credibility” (source 6). Piropato told the court that 430 trees had been felled and about 99 more had been identified (source 7). The Hill reports she told the judge there was “no conscious decision” to withhold information and that the department had been waiting for more detail before filing; Reyes replied, “None of that is an excuse” (source 9).

What the record shows about her: the rebuke, as reported, is directed at the government’s notice conduct. Judge Reyes’s October 13 memorandum opinion does not name Piropato. It places the October 5 directive to carry out the plan “as soon as practical” with Interior official Gregory Wischer, at a meeting attended by agency (Interior) counsel, not DOJ, and attributes the criticized delay in notice to “agency counsel” (source 8), consistent with the account in the Kevin Griess profile. Nothing in the record supports a finding that Piropato misled the court.

2. Routine filings after the temporary restraining order

On October 13 the court barred further removal through October 26 and required three business days’ notice of any irreparable change (Dkt. 79; sources 7, 8). Piropato filed the government’s notice of activity the following day (Dkt. 81) and, on October 16, the government’s opposition to the motion for a preliminary injunction, with an affidavit from Superintendent Kevin Griess attached (Dkt. 84) (source 8). Both are ordinary litigation filings. A separate motion to disqualify Judge Reyes, filed October 16 and denied October 18 (Dkt. 95), was filed by Stanley Woodward, not Piropato (source 8).

Accountability Status

• Court findings against her: none. The full docket through October 23, 2026 and the

October 13 memorandum opinion contain no sanction, show-cause order, Rule 11 or candor finding, or disciplinary referral against Piropato (source 8).

• Case status: pending. On October 22 the court denied a motion to resume testimony and

extend the restraining order, and ordered the government to ensure that Wischer preserved his personal phone’s contents related to the litigation — an order directed at Wischer, not DOJ counsel (source 8). Developments after October 23, 2026 are not covered here.

• What would change this profile: a court finding about her own conduct — a sanction,

show-cause order, candor finding or referral, or a finding that DOJ counsel (as opposed to agency counsel) knew of the removal and withheld notice.

Other matters as counsel of record

Listed for context on her role; inclusion rests only on DC Preservation League. DOJ affiliation is verified on the party listing only where marked; the others are attorney-field name matches (source 1).

Trump-administration matters, D.D.C.:

1. Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-03969, filed Nov. 14, 2025.

CourtListener docket 71918245.

1. National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States v. National Park Service,

No. 1:25-cv-04316, filed Dec. 12, 2025. CourtListener docket 72028010. **DOJ ENRD affiliation verified** (source 2).

1. Lemmon v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-00544, filed Feb. 19, 2026. CourtListener docket 72301112.
2. Cultural Landscape Foundation v. U.S. Department of the Interior, No. 1:26-cv-01593,

filed May 11, 2026. CourtListener docket 73321580.

1. Tohono O’odham Nation v. Mullin, No. 1:26-cv-02127, filed June 16, 2026. CourtListener

docket 73493770.

Earlier matters (career span):

1. The Lands Council v. Tidwell, No. 2:09-cv-00164 (D. Idaho), filed Apr. 9, 2009.

CourtListener docket 4857782.

1. Juliana v. United States, No. 6:15-cv-01517 (D. Or.). DOJ affiliation verified

(source 3).

1. California Air Resources Board v. Bernhardt, No. 20-16793 (9th Cir.), filed Sept. 16,
2. CourtListener docket 67532597.

Cross-References

• Gregory Wischer — Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of the Interior — the Interior official the October 13 opinion places behind the

“as soon as practical” directive.

• Kevin Griess – Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks — the East Potomac superintendent who testified under oath in the

case.

Sources

1. CourtListener, RECAP search attorney:(Piropato), 64 results, retrieved Oct. 24, 2026.

https://www.courtlistener.com/

1. CourtListener, “Parties for National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United

States v. National Park Service, 1:25-cv-04316,” retrieved Oct. 24, 2026. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/parties/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national

1. CourtListener, “Parties for Juliana v. United States of America, 6:15-cv-01517,”

retrieved Oct. 24, 2026. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5499763/parties/juliana-v-united-states-of-america

1. U.S. Department of Justice, “Legal Careers: Component Contacts, Pre-Interview

Submissions & General Interview Information,” retrieved Oct. 24, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/component-contacts-pre-interview-submissions-honors-program-summer-law-intern-program

1. U.S. Court of Federal Claims, “Advisory Council,” retrieved Oct. 24, 2026.

https://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/advisory-council

1. CBS News (Melissa Quinn), “Judge chastises Justice Department lawyers after hundreds of

trees cut down at D.C. golf course,” updated Oct. 12, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-ana-reyes-justice-department-trees-east-potomac-golf-course

1. CBS News (Melissa Quinn), “Judge blocks Trump administration from cutting down trees at

D.C. golf course for 2 weeks,” updated Oct. 13, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-east-potomac-golf-course-judge-ana-reyes

1. DC Preservation League v. Department of Interior, No. 1:26-cv-00477 (D.D.C.),

Memorandum Opinion and Order, Dkt. 79, filed Oct. 13, 2026 (read in full, 21 pp.), and the full docket sheet through Oct. 23, 2026, retrieved via CourtListener/RECAP Oct. 24,

1. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72278895/league-v-department-of-interior
2. The Hill, “Federal judge admonishes Trump administration over East Potomac Park tree

removal,” Oct. 12, 2026. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6143318-trump-administration-east-potomac-park-golf-trees