The Justice Department told a federal judge Wednesday that the National Park Service will close East Potomac Park by Nov. 15 ahead of renovations to turn the public golf course into “championship-level” fairway per a directive from President Donald Trump.
The National Links Trust — a company currently responsible for operating the golf course — will cease to manage the park, according to a new lease agreement signed with the National Park Service on Wednesday, officials informed the court.
By Friday, NPS will submit the renovation plans to the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington. It will feature a rendering designed by golf course architect Tom Fazio for a “World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events — such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the President’s Cup,” the filing said.
Earlier Wednesday, the government said the president twice directed the Department of the Interior and the NPS to close the course on Nov. 15 — a change from what a Justice Department lawyer told the court earlier this month.
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It comes amid an ongoing legal battle between the Trump administration and the D.C. Preservation League over whether the renovation efforts sidestepped historic preservation laws and environmental reviews.
The Trump administration was required to provide 10 business days’ notice of the park’s closure, in response to a Monday ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes that also ordered an extension of the ban against tree removals at the public golf course.
The Justice Department has appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, without explaining why the court should overturn it.
In her opinion Monday, Reyes requested a response from the Trump administration about whether any plan existed to shutter East Potomac Golf Links on or around Nov. 15. Trump had reiterated on social media following the injunction ruling that the golf course would close on that day for a 15-month period to turn it into a “world class championship” facility.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward told Reyes in a hearing on Oct. 19 that there were no plans to close the course by the date the president stated, the day after Trump first posted on Truth Social that restoration would begin on Nov. 15, along with a rendering of what the new course would look like.
This story has been updated with a new filing by the Justice Department.
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