The announcement

On Sunday, 18 October, Donald Trump posted on social media that his administration had developed a plan to turn East Potomac Golf Links, the public course on Hains Point in Washington, into a championship-level facility. The course is set to close on 15 November and reopen about 15 months later. Trump credited the Interior Department and golf architect Tom Fazio with the design, which he said could host events such as the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. He gave no figures for the cost or any funding source, and an Interior Department spokesman declined to comment on Sunday. In the same post, Trump described the existing course in harsh terms:

“The current course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect.”

The court fight over the trees

Trump's announcement came in the middle of a federal lawsuit brought by local residents and non-profit groups, who say the administration felled hundreds of mature oaks and maples without the permissions it needed. Earlier this month, National Park Service crews removed more than 400 trees from the course over a holiday weekend. U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes then issued a temporary restraining order that bars further tree cutting through 26 October. The government has maintained that the removal was a separate effort, carrying out recommendations from a 2019 Cultural Landscape Report aimed at restoring the course's links-style character. Reyes rejected that explanation, at least preliminarily. On Friday, 16 October, the Justice Department asked her to recuse herself, accusing her of "open hostility" toward the administration.

Earlier steps in the plan

The plan has been developing in public since spring. Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary, released a conceptual Fazio design in May, and in June Trump toured the course with Burgum and Fazio while carrying detailed plans of the property. Trump then said work would begin on 1 September, but construction had not started when that date passed. Government lawyers have argued in court that the wider redevelopment is still an idea, with no final plan in place, a description Trump's post went well beyond. Trump has also demolished the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom and taken control of the Kennedy Center, and several of his projects have been challenged in court.

Reaction on the course

Golfers at East Potomac on Sunday voiced strong opposition. An 83-year-old D.C. resident who has been coming to the course since age 8 said in an interview that he wanted it left alone, rejecting a completely overhauled course that could price out players. The course hosted 124,500 rounds in 2025, the busiest public golf facility in the Washington region. Opponents argue the redesign would change the character of the park and make it less affordable. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that criticism. Democracy Forward, one of the groups behind the lawsuit, said in a statement on X on Sunday:

“Our litigation is intended to protect this community jewel for the people and communities it serves.”

The group added that it would keep working to protect the site from what it called "unlawful and harmful intrusion."

What comes next

A senior Interior official is scheduled to testify on Monday, 19 October, about work already undertaken at the course. The restraining order covers tree cutting through 26 October, and the articles report no ruling yet on the Justice Department's recusal request. If the plan proceeds as Trump described, the course closes on 15 November and is expected to reopen roughly 15 months later.