A pack of cyclists whisked by along the circuit at East Potomac Park while the golf course parking lot filled with luxury SUVs parked next to older, inexpensive economy cars, all with the Washington Monument in the background. The scene highlighted what residents say are the park's best features: its accessibility and affordability right in the nation's capital. The historic park, especially the golf course, has caught the eye of President Donald Trump, who wants to turn it into a world-class golf venue.
It's part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has torn down storied structures, remade or renamed others and deployed the National Guard for more than a year. But some residents fear the planned changes to the golf course — where Trump has visited with a cabinet member, a well-known golf course architect and blueprints — risk altering the character of a place that has served Washingtonians of many stripes for more than a century. Turning the park into an upscale golf course will mean costlier fees and a loss of public space, residents worry.
A park created by Congress for ‘the people’ East Potomac Park, including the East Potomac Golf Links, was created by a congressional act in 1897, which established the park for the “recreation and the pleasure of the people.” The course opened in 1919. Trump, who has multiple projects underway in Washington, including a $400 million White House ballroom and the soon-to-begin construction of his triumphal arch, began talking about the city’s public courses in late 2025. Two months earlier, debris from the demolished East Wing of the White House was dumped at East Potomac, forming a three-story mound near one of its three golf courses, which remains there.
The National Park Service has said that the debris tested positive for lead, chromium and other toxic metals. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events,” Trump posted on social media in June. He said then that work was meant to begin on Sept. 1, but there were no signs of activity on the grounds this week.
An image unveiled in May by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum showed an 18-hole course that he said would deliver “championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted rates.” A lawsuit challenging the golf course renovation argues that the Trump administration’s redevelopment would violate the congressional act that created the park. The government is challenging the standing of the plaintiffs to sue. At the park, people who spoke to The noted that in some of Trump's other Washington projects, the administration has moved to make irrevocable changes and act faster than courts can respond.
At a court hearing Thursday about the park, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said as much, telling the government’s attorney she understood the plaintiff's wariness about changes made before they received proper approval, though she said she had not seen evidence of that in the golf course case. The administration has already removed dozens of trees from the park, although it says that is routine maintenance work.
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