President Donald Trump says the Department of the Interior will oversee renovations to the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., with a planned groundbreaking date of September 1—even as a federal lawsuit remains pending to block the project. In his pos
When President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he would “break ground” on a renovation of an “old and run down” public golf course in Washington. D.C. he did it with a date attached: September 1. The plan. he wrote on Truth Social. is to have the Department of the Interior lead the work. with Trump framing the outcome as a “world-class” venue designed for major tournaments.
Trump said he had just returned from a tour of “Statues. Monuments. Fountains” and—most prominently—“an old and run down Golf Course” in the nation’s capital. He toured the East Potomac Golf Links with Tom Fazio. the course architect he has tapped for the project. along with Fazio’s son Gavin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
In the same post. Trump described what he planned to do with strong language. calling the course “dilapidated” and “very dangerous.” He said renovations will make the course “one of the Greatest Golf Courses anywhere in the World. ” adding that it “will also be made available to the Public.” Trump also predicted the completed course could host major events including “The U.S. Open,” “The Ryder Cup,” “The PGA Championship,” and “other top PGA Tour events.”.
The challenge for Trump’s promise is that the project is entangled in an active fight over public golf course control in the D.C. region. The East Potomac Golf Links is currently operated jointly by the National Links Trust. a nonprofit that builds and manages public golf courses across the country. The organization and the federal government are disputing the Trump administration’s unilateral termination of long-term leases National Links Trust held on three public courses in the region.
That lease conflict has already had consequences beyond any single course. The effective takeover disrupted an ongoing renovation process at Rock Creek Park Golf. and it resulted in the dismissal of more than $8 million already invested in improvements to the courses. Trump’s announcement that the Potomac Links overhaul will be overseen by the Department of the Interior—paired with “heavy input from” himself—comes against that background. even as there is a pending federal lawsuit aimed at blocking the project.
The cost of the East Potomac Golf Links plan remains unknown. Trump offered few concrete details on how much the renovations would cost or how quickly they would proceed, even as he tied the outcome to tournament-level ambitions that typically demand extensive work.
In the same Truth Social post, Trump also turned to another public works matter: the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He repeated claims that algae bloom and a peeled-up pool liner were caused by vandals after a shoddy installation job. and he said the pool would be in the best condition of its existence by the time of this weekend’s July 4 celebrations.
While Trump sought to frame that dispute as already being resolved. his broader push for visible. high-profile projects has continued to collide with backlash from supporters and performers alike. Freedom 250’s “Great American State Fair” at the National Mall has seen significant fallout. with virtually every major artist originally scheduled to perform pulling out to avoid what the post described as the “political poison” of the Trump administration.
Trump used Truth Social again on Monday morning, escalating his argument about the fair’s reception. He wrote. “Do you think people appreciate what a fantastic job we did in building and operating the Great American State Fair at the National Mall. packed with happy people. and everybody loving it. ” then asked readers: “DO YOU THINK THAT OBUMA OR SLEEPY JOE BIDEN COULD HAVE DONE IT?” and added: “THE ANSWER IS NO!”.
The earlier post had already described the Freedom 250 exposition as unevenly constructed and only faintly compelling. pointing to attractions such as a ferris wheel. a scale replica of Trump’s planned “Arc de Triomphe. ” and an above-ground swimming pool where visitors could be baptized in front of an American and Israeli flag. It also said ten states have declined to send delegations and exhibits to the event.
As the fair’s controversies mounted, the biggest headline item mentioned in the account was a MAGA streamer who was charged with publicly masturbating on the mall in front of a group of performers.
For Trump. the golf course announcement carries the same signature: a dramatic promise of transformation. a clear date—September 1—and an assertion that public upgrades are within reach. For opponents watching the legal fight over National Links Trust leases. the timing is harder to ignore: the renovations are being pushed forward while a federal lawsuit remains pending to block them. and while earlier takeovers have already disrupted renovations and erased more than $8 million in prior investment.
Trump Department of the Interior East Potomac Golf Links National Links Trust lawsuit September 1 Washington DC Freedom 250 Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Doug Burgum Tom Fazio