Trump sets Nov. 15 closure plan for East Potomac golf course

President Donald Trump said East Potomac Golf Links would close Nov. 15 for about 15 months for redevelopment, setting out a specific timeline for a project the government has continued to describe in court as preliminary. The public golf facility is in East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.

Trump said the redesigned course would remain open to the public and be intended to host major tournaments. Those are plans he announced, not a court finding that the redevelopment has final approval or is cleared to proceed. The court’s existing order barring further tree-felling remained in effect through at least Oct. 26.

A public plan, but no final agency action, government says i

The announcement sharpened a dispute over the project’s status. In an Oct. 16 court filing, the government argued that there had been no final agency action on the proposed renovation and opposed the plaintiffs’ request for preliminary relief. After Trump’s post, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered the government to clarify by 8 p.m. Sunday whether it still held that position.

The government’s response maintained that the plan was not final because National Park Service review was unfinished. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the government had relied on Trump’s public statements and was not representing his actual position or mental impressions. That remains the government’s position; Reyes had not ruled that the announcement made the project final.

Trump’s accompanying rendering depicts a single 18-hole championship course. The current facility includes an 18-hole Blue Course, nine-hole White and Red courses, and practice facilities. The Washington Post reported that the rendering appears not to show Ohio Drive, the historic cherry-tree grove or the miniature-golf course. Their absence from an image does not establish that they have been removed from an approved design.

The Post reported that the course hosted 124,500 rounds in 2025. The site is also used by cyclists, runners, walkers, anglers, birdwatchers and other visitors. Rep. Don Beyer criticized the proposal, including the potential loss of roads and paths used by local residents; those impacts have not been established as final.

Tree-cutting order and Monday hearing i

The dispute also concerns tree removal. The court’s Oct. 13 temporary restraining order barred the National Park Service from felling more trees at the course. The Washington Post reported that NPS crews had removed more than 400 trees the previous weekend. The government argued that the removal was separate from the proposed redevelopment, and the court had not resolved that issue or the project’s ultimate legal status.

The plaintiffs—the DC Preservation League and two golfers, represented by Democracy Forward—are seeking a preliminary injunction or, alternatively, a stay. The government opposed that relief. Democracy Forward said the case seeks to protect the park and recreational facility for the people and communities it serves.

Reyes denied the administration’s request that she recuse herself late Sunday. A hearing was scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19, with Interior official Gregory Wischer and acting NPS director Jessica Bowron ordered to testify about the tree-removal plan. At 1:22 a.m. EDT Monday, the hearing had not yet taken place, and the plaintiffs’ request for longer-term preliminary relief remained unresolved.

The redevelopment’s cost and funding were unclear, the Washington Post reported. The announced Nov. 15 closure date had not arrived, and the court had not determined that the plan was final or resolved the underlying legal dispute.