By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-18 18:16:16 | Updated at 2026-10-18 19:33:03
1 hour ago
President Donald Trump on Sunday announced the Department of Interior’s plans to redevelop East Potomac Golf Links in Washington into a public championship golf course designed to host major tournaments.
In Truth Social post, Trump said the department, led by Secretary Doug Burgum, developed the plan with famed golf course architect Tom Fazio, who has developed more than 200 courses, 46 of which have made it into Golf Digest’s top 200 courses in the United States.
The existing course will close for play on Nov. 15 when work on Fazio’s design will begin, Trump said.
He estimated the new course, which will be designed to accommodate events such as the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, and Presidents Cup, will be ready and open to the public in about 15 months.
The renovation plan currently faces a legal challenge over tree removal and environmental reviews at East Potomac Golf Links.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Oct. 13 temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting down additional trees at the course after plaintiffs told the court that 529 trees were cut down at the golf course on Oct. 10. The administration said it removed 430 trees. Reyes also required three business days’ written notice to the court and plaintiffs before any irreversible modifications.
Trump’s Sunday announcement did not identify any tournament commitments. Trump said the United States Golf Association, PGA of America, and PGA Tour had been notified of the plans.
Trump described the existing course as deteriorated and unsafe, citing dangerous and diseased trees and a collapsing seawall. He also said that overgrowth had obscured views of Washington that were a feature of the original course.
Trump added the project will create jobs and generate millions of dollars in economic benefits for Washington and the surrounding area.
A graphic that President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social of the proposed World Class Championship Golf Course planned for the site of the current East Potomac Golf Links, in Washington, D.C. Department of the Interior
The legal challenge to renovating the golf course started when the DC Preservation League and golfers Alex Dickson and Dave Roberts sued the administration. They claimed the renovation would violate the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess environmental effects before making final decisions.
Their lawsuit alleges that soil and demolition debris from the White House East Wing were deposited at the course without the required environmental review.
Reyes found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their environmental claims and would likely suffer irreparable harm without court intervention.
Kevin Griess, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, testified that the tree removal was part of a 2019 plan predating Trump’s renovation proposal.
A hearing was scheduled for Oct. 19, with two senior Interior Department officials ordered to appear.
The Trump administration asked for Reyes, who was appointed her position in 2023, to be removed from litigation over East Potomac Golf Links, alleging that her treatment of government attorneys and officials demonstrated bias.
In an Oct. 16 motion signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the government accused Reyes of belittling its lawyer and questioning counsel’s honesty. The request to remove the judge also states she improperly demanded a senior official testify on a national holiday from his car via phone without the opportunity to prepare or consult with counsel.
The filing cited an Oct. 12 hearing at which Reyes criticized the government’s handling of tree removal, telling its attorney, “You did your absolute worst.”
The administration argued that orders requiring senior Interior Department and National Park Service officials to testify disregarded separation of powers principles and gave officials insufficient preparation time.
The motion also cited Reyes’s conduct in separate litigation challenging restrictions on transgender military service as evidence of hostility toward the administration.
According to the court filing, Reyes challenged Trump’s executive order that prohibits individuals who identify as a gender different from their biological sex or who have a history of gender dysphoria from serving in the military. Reyes stated that “this executive order is premised on an assertion that’s not biologically correct. There are anywhere near about 30 different intersex examples. So, someone who does not have just an XX or XY chromosome is not just male or female; they’re intersex.”
