President Donald Trump said Sunday that the public East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., will close Nov. 15 so the Interior Department can rebuild it as a championship course.
Trump announced the plan in a Truth Social post at about 9:10 a.m. Central time. He said the new course should open in about 15 months. The New York Post and The Washington Times first reported the announcement.
What Trump announced
- Who is building it: The Interior Department under Secretary Doug Burgum, working with golf course architect Tom Fazio, Trump wrote.
- Who can play: Trump said the course will stay open to the public. He wants it able to host events such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup.
- Why rebuild: Trump called the current course “old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect.” He cited “falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees” and “a collapsing and hazardous seawall.”
- Timeline: Work on the Fazio design starts Nov. 15, when the old course closes to play.
Trump also said the U.S. Golf Association, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour have been told about the project. He said it would create jobs and bring “Millions of Dollars” to the capital area. Those claims were not independently confirmed.
In a second post about an hour later, Trump thanked Fazio for his “initial conceptual design.” He wrote that park experts may change the plan “depending on site conditions.”
The court fight over trees
The project is already the subject of a federal lawsuit. The DC Preservation League and other plaintiffs sued, and U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes is hearing the case, the New York Post reported.
- May order: Reyes ordered the administration to give notice before cutting down more than 10 trees.
- Columbus Day weekend: Officials told the court they planned to cut “up to 529 trees.” About 430 were cut by the next day, and the judge called an emergency hearing.
- Sunday: After Trump’s post, Reyes ordered the government to tell her by 8 p.m. whether a Friday court filing still held. That filing called the rebuilding plan “preliminary.”
The administration has asked for a different judge, the Post reported. Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs, has said it wants to protect the park from “unlawful and harmful intrusion.”
About the course
East Potomac Golf Links sits in East Potomac Park, about 2.3 miles from the White House. The National Park Service oversees it, and the nonprofit National Links Trust has run it and two other city courses under a 50-year lease. Last December, the administration told the Park Service to end that lease, the Post reported.
Some residents have objected that the earlier plans did not keep the park’s walking, running and biking paths, the Post reported. The design Trump posted Sunday also did not appear to show them.
Sources: Donald J. Trump on Truth Social, Oct. 18, 2026; New York Post; The Washington Times.
