Trump says he will turn Washington's East Potomac golf course into 'U.S. Open-caliber' course, announces Nov. 15 start of work
WASHINGTON
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social at 10:09 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) on Oct. 18 that a championship golf course capable of hosting major tournaments will be built on the site of East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C. Trump said the Interior Department, led by Secretary Doug Burgum, had prepared the plan and that restoration work based on golf course architect Tom Fazio's design will begin Nov. 15. The existing course will close the same day, and the new course will open about 15 months later. Nearly an hour later, a statement in the name of Burgum and the Interior Department was posted on the same account. The golf course sits on parkland managed by the National Park Service. The Interior Department and the National Park Service (NPS) have been fighting a federal lawsuit over the plan since February.
Trump says he will build major-championship-caliber course open to the public
Trump wrote in the post that the Interior Department had prepared a plan to build "a World Class Championship Golf Course" on the current site of East Potomac Golf Links. He said the new course would be "open to the Public" once completed. The idea is to design it to the highest level of play so it can host tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup.
He also touted the economic benefits. "This Course will create many Jobs, and have a tremendously positive Economic Development impact," Trump said. He added: "Millions of Dollars will inure to the Capital area."
He said three U.S. golf organizations had already been informed. Trump wrote that the United States Golf Association (USGA), the PGA of America and the PGA Tour "have already been notified that they will soon have one of the Best." The post did not say whether the three organizations had committed to holding tournaments on the course, or who would pay how much for construction.
The post included a watercolor-style course layout. An 18-hole course and a driving range were drawn on a long, narrow island in the Potomac River, with the presidential seal on the left and the Interior Department seal on the right.
Trump cites falling trees and collapsing seawall as reasons for rebuilding
Trump said the current course is no longer serviceable. The post stated: "The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated." It said there are "falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees" throughout the course and "a collapsing and hazardous seawall."
Trump also invoked the course's original appearance. When East Potomac first opened, he said, "it was famous for no trees, with views of Washington, D.C., for all to see." Now, he said, "it is completely overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe."
He gave a specific construction schedule. "Restoration work will begin on the Fazio Design on November 15th," Trump said, calling that day the date "when the old Course will be closed to play." For completion, he said: "The new Course will be opened in approximately 15 months."
Statement in Interior Department's name leaves detailed changes to park experts
At 11:02 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time, a statement referring to Secretary Doug Burgum and the Interior Department in the third person was posted on Trump's account. It ended with Trump's signature. The statement began by saying that Burgum and the Interior Department "is very excited about" the development of a new golf course on the site of the old East Potomac Golf Links.
The statement thanked the designer: "We would like to thank Tom Fazio for his initial conceptual design and ideas." It also expressed gratitude for input from others in the golf world and at the Interior Department.
The statement did not finalize Fazio's design as is. It stated explicitly that it could change depending on site conditions. "Any variance or changes will be made, depending on site conditions," it said, adding that those decisions would be made "by the Experts in Parks and Recreation." It added that these experts' "experience and knowledge in Seawalls, Landscaping, and Design are second to none."
The design itself was unveiled in a May 14 X post by Burgum.
Excited to unveil the design for the East Potomac Golf Links renovation from Fazio Design.
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) May 14, 2026
Like iconic public courses of Bethpage Black & Torrey Pines, East Potomac will offer locals—of the National Capital Region—championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted… pic.twitter.com/foLZAAcsj3
In the post, Burgum said: "Excited to unveil the design for the East Potomac Golf Links renovation from Fazio Design." It also said that, like renowned public courses such as Bethpage Black and Torrey Pines, the course would offer capital-area residents "championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted…"
Start date pushed from Sept. 1, announced in June, to Nov. 15
This is the second time Trump has announced a start date for the course. Trump said on Truth Social at 11:42 a.m. (Pacific Time) on June 28 that he had toured the course with the interior secretary, staff, Tom Fazio and his son Gavin Fazio. That post said: "Work on the new Course, which will go quickly, will begin on September 1st."
The June post described the course's condition in more detail. Trump said the remaining sprinklers could not handle even 10% of what was needed. He said most of the grass was dead and the greens were "virtually unplayable." His assessment was that the course had been poorly managed for a long time and had a small maintenance budget. In the same post, Trump mentioned repairs to 73 of the most important statues, monuments and fountains. He said the Reflecting Pool would be drained and repaired after July 4 because vandals had torn its waterproof lining, and that Lafayette Park "has not looked so good since its inception in 1820."
The Oct. 18 post offered no explanation of why the Sept. 1 start was changed to Nov. 15.
Government tells court NPS is pursuing renovation under its own authority
The plan is before the courts. Washington preservation group DC Preservation League and golfers Dave Roberts and Alex Dickson on Feb. 13 sued the Interior Department, the National Park Service, Burgum and Comptroller Jessica Bowron, who exercises the delegated authority of the NPS director, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Case No. 1:26-cv-00477). Judge Ana C. Reyes is presiding. The plaintiffs sought to halt implementation of the plan, citing violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the National Park Service Organic Act.
In a filing submitted to the court on July 17 (Document 63), the government argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing when they filed suit and that there was no final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The same filing answered four questions the court posed on July 6. Asked whether there had been any new directive after Trump's June 28 remarks, the government answered "No." It added: "NPS has not received any additional directive from Secretary Burgum or other high-ranking officials."
The government said Burgum had set the direction earlier. The filing said the secretary had directed that "NPS should pursue managing and executing a renovation of East Potomac Golf Course under its own authority." It said the NPS is working to "develop possible target dates and proposed compliance schedules" for the redesign.
The same filing said the site visit the court asked about was attended by Burgum, Gregory Wischer, deputy chief of staff for policy to the interior secretary, and Frank Lands, NPS deputy director for operations. It said the government understands that the conceptual rendering was produced by Fazio Design, which holds the original and the intellectual property rights. On July 2, the court jointly heard the plaintiffs' motion for a stay and preliminary injunction (Document 8), the government's motion to dismiss (Document 34) and the plaintiffs' motion for expedited discovery (Document 51).