Trump sets November start for East Potomac golf overhaul

President Donald Trump says construction will begin Nov. 15 on a championship golf course at Washington’s East Potomac Golf Links, even as a federal judge weighs a challenge to the project and restricts further work at the site.

In a Truth Social post Sunday, Trump said the Interior Department, under Secretary Doug Burgum, worked with golf course architect Tom Fazio on a plan to replace the current course. The course will close for about 15 months during construction, he said.

“When completed, it will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf,” Trump wrote. He said it could host tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. Trump also called the project a “tremendously positive” economic opportunity for Washington that would create jobs.

Trump described the existing course as “old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect.” He cited what he called dangerous, diseased trees and a collapsing seawall, saying the site, once “famous for no trees,” had become “overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe.” He did not mention the court challenge in his announcement.

The D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers have sued to stop the overhaul. After the administration cut down hundreds of trees at the course, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes barred further tree removal for a limited period and ordered the government to give the court and the plaintiffs three business days’ notice before making any “irreparable modification” to the course.

CBS News reported that the restriction on tree removal runs through Oct. 16; NBC News reported that it runs through Oct. 26. Both outlets reported the advance-notice requirement.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the administration had tried to avoid the law “in their mad rush toward converting a public recreation space to a high-end golf course.” They said the order would prevent additional work while they seek more lasting relief.

Reyes rebuked government lawyers over the tree cutting. “I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,” she said, according to NBC News, adding that the episode “cost the government all of its credibility.” The judge had previously denied a request for a restraining order after administration lawyers said they would provide ample notice of large-scale work, NBC reported.

National Park Service officials told Reyes last week that they knew of no formal renovation plan beyond earlier social media posts by Trump and Burgum, according to NBC News. On Friday, the administration asked Reyes to recuse herself, arguing that her “histrionics in prior hearings have clearly demonstrated she is no longer impartial.” Reyes has scheduled a Monday hearing and called on the acting National Park Service director and the Interior Department’s chief of staff to testify under oath.