President Trump said Sunday that construction on a historic Washington, D.C., golf course is set to begin next month, even as a court challenge continues over his long-planned renovation of the East Potomac Golf Links.
“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, located in Washington, D.C.,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Although he did not mention the legal challenge, the president said the redesigned course would remain open to the public while also being capable of hosting major events, including the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. He called the project a “tremendously positive” economic opportunity for Washington that would “create many jobs.”
Mr. Trump characterized the existing course as “old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect … with falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees, and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall.” He said the property was originally “famous for no trees” but had since become “overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe.”
Construction is scheduled to start Nov. 15, Mr. Trump said. The course will close for roughly 15 months while the replacement is built.
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AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
The announcement came less than a week after a federal judge barred the Trump administration from removing trees at the course through Oct. 16. The order followed the cutting of hundreds of trees during the preceding weekend.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruled that, until that date, the administration cannot make “any irreparable modification” to East Potomac without giving the court and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit at least three business days’ notice of the planned work.
“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 and today’s order will stop them from doing further irreparable harm to a precious public resource,” attorneys for the plaintiffs—the D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers—said after the ruling. “We are pleased that the court intervened and will prevent additional work while we seek more lasting relief.”
