Trump Says Construction on DC's East Potomac Golf Course Starts Nov. 15 Despite Lawsuit
The president announced a Tom Fazio-designed championship course less than a week after a federal judge froze tree removal at the site, and he did not mention the court fight.
President Trump said Sunday that construction on a historic Washington, D.C., golf course will begin next month, even though a court challenge to his long-sought overhaul of the East Potomac Golf Links is still underway. The announcement came in a Truth Social post that did not acknowledge the lawsuit.
"I am pleased to announce that the Department of the Interior, under the auspices of Secretary Doug Burgum, and in conjunction with famed Golf Course Architect, Tom Fazio, has developed a plan to build a World Class Championship Golf Course on the site of the current East Potomac Golf Links," Trump wrote.
The president said the course would stay open to the public but would also be designed to host tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. He called it a "tremendously positive" economic opportunity that would create many jobs in the District. Construction will begin Nov. 15, he said, and the current course will be closed for about 15 months until the new one opens.
Trump described the existing course as "old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect," with "falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees" and a "collapsing and hazardous seawall." He said the site "was famous for no trees" originally but has become overgrown, dysfunctional and unsafe.
The announcement follows a legal fight that escalated last week. A federal judge, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, barred the administration from removing trees at the current course through Oct. 16 after hundreds of trees were cut down the weekend before. Her order said that until that date the administration could not make "any irreparable modification" to the course without giving the court and the plaintiffs three business days' notice.
The plaintiffs are the D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers, who are suing to stop the overhaul. Their attorneys said the administration has "time and again tried to avoid the law in their mad rush toward converting a public recreation space to a high-end golf course." They said the order would prevent further irreparable harm to what they called a precious public resource while they seek more lasting relief.
What the judge will do next is the open question. The tree-removal restriction Reyes imposed ran only through Oct. 16, and the lawsuit itself is still pending. Trump's new date of Nov. 15 sets up a deadline for the court to act, or for the administration to proceed with a project that opponents say would turn a public recreation space on the Potomac into a high-end course. The plan has been a personal priority for the president for some time, and Sunday's post makes clear he intends to move ahead.
