A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to give notice before making major changes at East Potomac Golf Links, expressing doubt that the government has been forthcoming about its plans for the municipal course in Washington, D.C.
As Golf Digest reported earlier this year, President Trump has moved to take control of work being done at East Potomac from the National Links Trust, the nonprofit that secured a 50-year lease during Trump’s first term to operate three D.C. public courses. NLT’s plan called for renovating the courses, restoring their architecture and improving services without raising costs for golfers. The work was to be led by some of the game’s most respected architects, including Tom Doak, Gil Hanse and his partner Jim Wagner, and Beau Welling.
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Trump set his sights on East Potomac, which offers sweeping views of the capital and the Potomac River. Sources tell Golf Digest the president wants to convert the course into a major championship or Ryder Cup venue and use it as a counterargument to the golf ball rollback. As our feature reported, the administration muscled its way onto the properties, at one point dumping debris from the demolished East Wing onto East Potomac. On January 1, the administration terminated NLT’s lease, offering justifications that one NLT official described to Golf Digest as “genuinely one of the most ridiculous and disappointing things I’ve ever read.”
The termination has brought an uncertain future to East Potomac and the other two courses at Langston and Rock Creek, with the NLT holding out hope for a settlement. Then reports surfaced over the weekend that the government would shut down East Potomac on Monday, prompting an advocacy group to file an emergency motion.
At Monday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes repeatedly pressed Justice Department attorneys and National Park Service officials on their plans, drawing pointed parallels to the pace and opacity of other federal projects, including the White House ballroom that has drawn criticism. At one point a government lawyer told the court no closure notice had been issued only for Reyes to produce evidence that closure signs had already gone up at East Potomac.
Reyes declined to issue a temporary restraining order, citing the absence of a formal closure announcement, and allowed Park Service officials to continue routine maintenance.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Will Bardwell warned that the government could use maintenance as cover for other motives. Reyes appeared to share that concern. “I do not want a situation where something has happened and then I’m being told by the government or by a foundation or by a bulldozing company that it’s too late to do anything about it,” Reyes said. “… If anyone orders big things to show up, by big things, I mean anything bigger than my sedan, then I want the plaintiffs to have notice.”
Government attorneys pushed back, arguing no final decision has been made on a renovation or redesign and that the plaintiffs were leaning too heavily on press accounts. The Park Service, they said, plans only deferred maintenance on debris removal and basic repairs.
Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that a group called the National Garden of American Heroes Foundation has been circulating fundraising materials tied to two priorities: the National Garden of American Heroes and a “comprehensive redevelopment and restoration” of East Potomac. As Golf Digest reported earlier this year, East Potomac drew an unannounced visitor in late 2025. Tom Fazio, who has designed four Trump courses, toured the property under an alias. That afternoon, public records show, Fazio went to the White House and stayed more than three hours. He is now widely expected to lead the East Potomac redesign.
“Something is happening,” Reyes told government attorneys. “I don’t know what it is; I trust that you don’t know what it is. … When you have a pledge going out with pictures, asking people for money, we’re pretty far down the road, okay? So I think there’s been more happening.”
She continued: “I think that there are plans being developed outside of the agency, either through the White House or through private individuals coordinating with people at the White House, or maybe some individuals in the agency about, ‘Here’s what we want to have going forward.’ I think it’s been further along than has been identified in the pleadings to date.”
The case originated with a February lawsuit filed by two Washington-area golfers and the DC Preservation League, who argue the administration has sidestepped environmental and historic preservation laws in its push to remake the course.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com