Chicago – February 16, 2026
Two Washington, D.C., golfers filed a lawsuit on Friday against the federal government, seeking to halt President Donald Trump’s administration from overhauling the 100-year-old East Potomac Golf Course in East Potomac Park.
The plaintiffs accuse the Interior Department of violating a 1897 congressional act that designates the park for public recreation, as well as the National Environmental Policy Act, by failing to assess environmental impacts and allegedly dumping White House demolition debris on the site.
The legal action follows the administration’s December termination of a lease with the nonprofit National Links Trust, which managed the course and two others. The department cited unmet capital improvement requirements, but the trust countered that it invested $8.5 million, doubled revenue and play, and that the move endangers local jobs.
The Interior Department declined comment on the litigation but affirmed plans to keep courses “safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, and accessible,” aligning with Trump’s agenda. Construction has reportedly begun, marking another clash over Trump’s reshaping of D.C. public spaces.
