President Donald Trump announced a major redevelopment of East Potomac Golf Links starting next month. A federal judge quickly ordered government lawyers into court following the announcement.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the federal government will overhaul East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., into a championship-caliber course, scheduling construction to start on Nov. 15. The public facility along the Potomac River will shut down for about 15 months during the work, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that included an artist rendering of the new design.
The proposed redesign and tournament ambitions
According to Fox News, Trump said the Department of the Interior, led by Secretary Doug Burgum, teamed up with golf course architect Tom Fazio to design the layout. The president stated that the property will stay open to the public while meeting standards for premier professional tournaments, including the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. Officials have already informed the PGA Tour, PGA of America and the United States Golf Association about the initiative.
Trump pointed to deteriorating conditions across the federally owned park, which has operated as a municipal course for over a century near the National Mall. He labeled the existing site broken and dilapidated, pointing to an unsafe seawall, decaying trees and overgrown areas. Trump said the project would generate regional employment and restore sightlines toward the capital, contending the property was originally known for having no trees.
Legal battles over tree removal
The renovation project faces an active lawsuit in federal court brought by the D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers. As NBC News reported, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes previously halted further tree removal at East Potomac after government workers cut down hundreds of trees. Sources gave differing dates for that temporary order, with CBS News reporting the tree cutting ban ran through Oct. 16, while NBC News stated the prohibition lasted through Oct. 26.
Reyes sharply criticized government attorneys after the tree cutting took place, remarking that the episode “cost the government all of its credibility.” The judge instituted a requirement that federal agencies provide three business days of advance written notice to the court and plaintiffs prior to carrying out any permanent alterations at the property. The judge had earlier declined an injunction request from plaintiffs after government lawyers assured the court that they would give sufficient notice before major work started.
Judge orders urgent answers from the government
Hours after Trump posted the construction schedule, Reyes intervened in the case on Sunday evening, CBS News reported. The judge formally recognized Trump’s social media statement and directed the government to state by 8 p.m. Sunday whether it maintains its legal claim from two days prior. In that earlier filing, federal attorneys told the court that no final agency action had occurred and that Trump had merely given preliminary thought to the project.
The post emerged after National Park Service staff testified last week that they had seen no official redevelopment plan aside from social media comments by Trump and Burgum. The administration had also tried to remove Reyes from the dispute on Friday, arguing in a filing that her “histrionics in prior hearings have clearly demonstrated she is no longer impartial.”
Reyes scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Monday morning and ordered two appearing government attorneys to attend in person. She also summoned the Interior Department’s chief of staff and the acting director of the National Park Service to provide testimony under oath regarding the planned construction.
