President Donald Trump confirmed his much-discussed plans to build a “world championship” golf course at East Potomac Park in a social media post Sunday, despite an ongoing lawsuit aimed at halting the proposed overhaul.
The finished course will be open to the public, equipped to host high-level golf tournaments including the U.S. Open and have a “tremendously positive economic development impact” on D.C., creating “many jobs,” the president wrote on Truth Social. The post did not include any mention of costs.
Redevelopment, spearheaded by golf course architect Tom Fazio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, will begin Nov. 15, and end sometime in early 2028, Trump wrote. His post was accompanied by a rendering of an 18-hole golf course that covers the length of East Potomac, including the Hains Point recreational area.
The announcement comes just days after a federal judge ordered a halt to tree-cutting at the golf course until next week. On Friday night, Justice Department lawyers asked for U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes to be removed from the case because she has shown “open hostility” toward the government.
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Interior and the National Park Service are defendants in the lawsuit, brought by the D.C. Preservation League and local residents, who have long enjoyed the island park in southwest D.C. for its accessible golfing, tennis courts, playground, cycling and abundant green space.
“The recreation landscape [will be] so horrifically changed. If you think of all of the rides and races that happen in D.C. — from the D.C. bike ride, to the Army Ten-Miler to the Marine Corps marathon,” said Elizabeth Kiker, the executive director of Washington Area Bicycle Association. “There’s no room for biking, bird-watching, running, for all of the public uses that Hains point has had for 100 years.”
Trump sees the park differently.
“The current course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect,” he wrote on Sunday. “It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous and disease infested trees and importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall.”
The National Park Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A hearing in the ongoing lawsuit is scheduled for Monday morning.
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