A golfer walks near sections of logs cut from trees at the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
President Trump announced plans to renovate the East Potomac Golf Links, a Washington, D.C. course that was already at the center of a difficult legal battle.
In an article in Truth Social on SundayTrump called the current course “old, broken, dilapidated and of no use or effect.” According to the post, renovations will begin on November 15 and the course will be closed for approximately 15 months.
The area, located 2 miles south of the White House, has been at the center of a heated legal battle for months. In February, a Washington preservation group and two individuals challenged the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service over planned renovations, arguing that a “championship-style golf course” would inflate tee time costs for a golf course that was originally intended to be “open to all.”
The Interior Department and the NPS argued that the plaintiffs in this case have not established actual harm caused by the proposed changes and that “plaintiffs’ desire for the NPS to accommodate their aesthetic and recreational preferences does not create a legally protected interest.”
During a sometimes heated hearing, the federal judge in the case, Ana C. Reyes, ordered the administration to stop cutting down trees in the park.
Then on Friday, the defendants filed a motion to disqualify Reyes, accusing him of bias. “Judge Reyes’ behavior in this matter is nothing short of egregious,” the motion states.
In his Truth Social Post, Trump made no mention of the legal fight. He said the area was overgrown and included a visual plan for the newly renovated golf course, “designed for the highest level of golf and capable of hosting world-class tournaments”.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday.
The East Potomac Park Golf Course is seen from the Washington Monument, Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in Washington.
Pablo Martínez Monsivais/AP
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Pablo Martínez Monsivais/AP
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, one of the legal organizations representing the plaintiffs in the case, released a statement saying that “East Potomac Park is a national park, golf course and recreational facility that everyone can enjoy.” Our litigation aims to protect this community gem for the people and communities it serves and we will continue to work with our plaintiffs to defend it against illegal and harmful intrusion.
NPR reached out to legal representatives at the Interior Department and the White House for comment but did not receive a response.
The golf course is just one example of the president wielding his power to leave a permanent imprint on Washington, DC. Trump threatened to do so. demolish the Kennedy Centerhe seeks to build a 250 foot arch near the National Mall, and he reinstated controversial statues, such as that of Confederate General Albert Pike, identified by historians as being responsible for the development of the Ku Klux Klan.
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