Department of the Interior Drafting Closure Plan for Historic D.C. Golf Course Following Trump Directives
Justice Department confirms plans to close D.C.'s East Potomac Golf Links by November 15 following executive redesign orders and ongoing federal litigation.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, United States — The Department of the Interior is actively drafting a blueprint to shutter the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., by November 15, according to senior Justice Department officials.
The development follows public statements made twice by President Trump on Truth Social, where he declared that the historic public links would temporarily close next month to undergo a comprehensive redesign.
In a brief submitted to the U.S. district court on Wednesday, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward pointed to the president’s social media declarations. Mr. Trump stated the course will be overhauled for competitive, safety, modernization, and aesthetic reasons.
Accordingly, Interior, acting through counsel, is working to develop a plan to implement that direction and will provide this Court with notice, Woodward wrote in the court filing.
For months, the Trump administration has been locked in a legal battle concerning the potential overhaul of East Potomac, a public course that has welcomed golfers since 1920. The lawsuit was filed by a local preservation group and two individual golfers.
While administration representatives previously maintained that no finalized proposal existed and that only a possible project was under consideration, the president announced earlier this month that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and golf-course architect Tom Fazio had crafted a strategy to build a world-class championship golf course at the site.
Mr. Trump specified that the current grounds would shut down on November 15 to kick off construction on the fresh layout, estimating that the modernized facility would reopen in approximately 15 months.
The presidential announcement followed an intervention by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who oversees the ongoing legal challenge. Judge Reyes temporarily halted the administration from clearing trees after more than 500 were cut down over a single weekend.
On Monday, Judge Reyes issued a more permanent order continuing to prohibit the government from removing or damaging any vegetation at the property while the litigation proceeds. The plaintiffs successfully argued that the weekend tree felling directly supported the administration’s redesign agenda.
In her extensive 70-page ruling, Judge Reyes noted the unusual legal friction, writing that rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting President. This came after Woodward argued during a contentious hearing that despite online posts, no formal plan existed to close the course.
This started as a case about golf, that good walk spoiled, Reyes wrote in her decision. It has become much more. It now forces the Court to reconcile assertions by President Donald J. Trump with the sworn testimony of multiple government employees and the argument of senior Department of Justice attorneys.
The Justice Department has since moved to appeal the judge’s ruling. Judge Reyes announced that a new court hearing will be scheduled for either Friday or Monday to determine the immediate next steps for the case.
To date, the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit have not filed a formal motion requesting Judge Reyes to block the impending course closure and subsequent modernization efforts.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
