President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his administration plans to rebuild East Potomac Golf Links, a century-old public golf course in Washington, D.C., into what he called a “world class” venue capable of hosting major championships. The announcement came on the same day a federal judge demanded the government clarify sworn statements made just two days earlier that no final decision on the project had been made.
Trump said the Department of the Interior, under Secretary Doug Burgum, is working with golf course architect Tom Fazio on the redesign of the course, which sits on federal land along the Potomac River near the National Mall.
“When completed, it will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, posting an artist’s rendering of the proposed layout.
Trump said the finished course could be capable of hosting the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and that the USGA, PGA of America and PGA Tour have already been told of the plans. He said the project would create jobs and boost the local economy, and that the existing course is set to close Nov. 15, with construction expected to take about 15 months.
Trump also criticized the current course’s condition, describing it as “old, broken, dilapidated,” and citing hazardous, diseased trees and a crumbling seawall.
A Judge Takes Notice
Trump’s post did not mention the litigation already underway over the project. Hours after it went up, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes took judicial notice of it in court and ordered the government to state by 8 p.m. Sunday whether it still stood behind a filing submitted two days prior, which claimed “there is no final agency action” and that the president had, at most, given the project “preliminary thought.”
Reyes also ordered two government attorneys involved in the case to appear in person at an evidentiary hearing Monday morning.
The scrutiny follows a separate dispute over tree removal at the site. Reyes recently issued a temporary halt on further cutting amid a legal challenge to work already underway on the property.
East Potomac Golf Links has operated as part of the city’s public golf system for more than 100 years. Trump said the rebuilt course would restore views of the capital and become “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”
The discrepancy between the administration’s public announcement and its representations to the court is now the central question before Judge Reyes, who is expected to press government attorneys on the matter at Monday’s hearing.
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