Justice Department Confirms Plans to Close and Rebuild East Potomac Golf Course on Nov. 15

The Justice Department filed notice late Wednesday that President Donald Trump's public announcements about renovating East Potomac Golf Course, and about closing the park starting Nov. 15, reflect actual plans.

According to the filing, the National Park Service will submit a rendering by designer Tom Fazio to the National Capital Planning Commission for review on Friday, Oct. 30. The filing describes it as a design for a "World Class, championship-level golf course" able to host major events such as the U.S. Open. On Nov. 15, the filing says, the Park Service will close East Potomac Park south of Buckeye Drive, including the golf course, "consistent with the President's directive." The planning commission is set to take up the plan at its Dec. 3 meeting.

The filing also says the Park Service has signed a new lease with the National Links Trust, the company that now runs the course. Under it, the trust will stop operating East Potomac Golf Course at the close of business on or before Nov. 15, while continuing to run two other public courses.

The notice is the latest development in a 10-day stretch that began Oct. 18, when Trump posted on social media that the park would close Nov. 15 for 15 months while it was turned into what he called a world-class facility. His posts set off a series of court hearings in a lawsuit brought by the DC Preservation League and two golfers.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction Oct. 26, partly because of a gap between the president's statements and the testimony of National Park Service, Interior Department and Justice Department officials, who said they knew nothing of the plans he was announcing. The order temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging more trees at the course. It also requires 10 days' written notice before any "irreparable modification" to the course's "forms or features" while the case continues.

The posts left Justice Department lawyers in the awkward position of explaining whether the president's statements should be taken at face value. On Tuesday, Reyes asked the department to clarify "whether any plan exists to close East Potomac Golf Course on or around November 15, 2026." She has ordered Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. to appear Friday, along with at least one Interior Department Solicitor's Office representative with prior experience on the case.

Trump responded on Truth Social Wednesday night, calling the course "highly dangerous, dilapidated, and absolutely disgusting" and saying Reyes would be held responsible for anyone injured or killed there. He also wrote that local golfers would be thrilled by the renovation. Plaintiffs say the work is causing irreversible damage, and critics argue the plan would make the course unaffordable for the public and eliminate the site's other uses.

The project is part of a broader effort by Trump to put his stamp on Washington's historic landscape, including a White House ballroom, a large arch and a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park. Several judges have issued injunctions or restraining orders as the administration pushed ahead despite pending lawsuits.

A second contested project is also before the courts this week. Judge Tanya Chutkan will hear a motion Friday to temporarily halt construction of the arch at Memorial Circle, which the administration has said could begin as early as Nov. 5, pending planning commission approval. Arlington County, Virginia, has also sued over the arch, becoming the first government body to take legal action against it.