President Donald Trump says he will close the East Potomac golf course, just across the river from Arlington, for 15 months of renovations starting Sunday, Nov. 15.
Trump announced the plan on social media today (Sunday). He said the work would make the historic public course “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”
“When completed, it will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup,” Trump wrote in the post, which included an artist’s rendering of the redesign.
Trump announces plans for the redeveloped East Potomac Park golf course. pic.twitter.com/ZiGYgc99Uo
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) October 18, 2026
The post did not mention the legal fight over the project. Last week, a federal judge halted Trump’s redevelopment plans until at least Monday, Oct. 26. She scolded the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while giving little notice to the court or to the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.
The announcement came a day after “No Kings” protesters marched across Memorial Bridge from Memorial Circle to the Lincoln Memorial. They urged people to vote early and opposed Trump’s planned 250-foot arch at the circle. Organizers also led walks to early voting sites in several Arlington neighborhoods.
Rep. Don Beyer (D), who represents Arlington, said the administration “was clearly lying” about why it cut down the trees.
“They were lying to conceal from the American people that, at a time when our country is at war and everyone is worried about the economy and high prices, the President simply doesn’t care,” Beyer said in a statement. “Trump is focused on building an upscale golf course within walking distance of the White House, on his fancy ballroom, and on his memorial arch to himself.”
Beyer said the design would “block off or eliminate roads and paths used by large numbers of local residents for cycling and walking.” He added that Trump is “almost certainly doing all of this at great expense on taxpayers’ dime, and if recent history is a guide, with corrupt contracting practices.”
“What a disgrace,” Beyer said.
Beyer recently led a tour of East Potomac Park with cyclists, runners and other local residents. Last month, he joined other House Democrats in demanding records on the project from the Interior Department.
In addition to being a convenient and inexpensive destination for many Arlington golfers, East Potomac hosted the annual Arlington County high school golf match last month.
Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs challenging the renovation, said the course is part of a national park and recreation facility meant for everyone to enjoy.
“Our litigation is intended to protect this community jewel for the people and communities it serves and we will continue to work with our plaintiffs to defend it from unlawful and harmful intrusion,” Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, took notice of Trump’s post. She ordered the government to tell her by 8 p.m. tonight whether its position had changed since a court filing on Friday. That filing said Trump had given “at most” “preliminary thought” to the rebuilding plan and that “there is no final agency action.”
In his post, Trump made the same kind of argument he has used to justify remaking the Kennedy Center, saying the course is in such poor shape that it needs to close.
“The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect. It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall,” Trump wrote.
He also defended the National Park Service’s removal of hundreds of trees, which the judge paused. When the course was first built, he wrote, “it was famous for no trees, with views of Washington, D.C., for all to see, but now, it is completely overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe.”
Debris from the demolition of the White House East Wing, cleared to make way for Trump’s ballroom, has also been dumped on the grounds. The National Park Service has said the debris tested positive for lead, chromium and other toxic metals.
Trump, who plays golf often, had already announced plans to make over the links as part of a broader push to renovate places around Washington, including the White House and the Kennedy Center. Many of those projects have been challenged in court, including the White House ballroom, the addition of his name to the Kennedy Center and the arch.
The 106-year-old park and course has been the subject of many emergency hearings as the president has sought to renovate it. The course has been open to Washingtonians of all income levels. Opponents of turning it into a high-end course argue the change would alter the character of the space and make it less affordable.
Trump’s post laying out a clear construction plan complicates a federal court hearing set for tomorrow (Monday). The hearing is in a lawsuit filed by the DC Preservation League and two golfers who oppose the construction.
Reyes has ordered key members of the administration to testify about the recent tree-cutting and whether it is tied to the president’s plans for the course.
On Friday, the administration asked for Reyes to be replaced on the case. It questioned her impartiality and cited what it called “egregious” behavior from the bench during an emergency hearing on Oct. 12. During that three-hour hearing, Reyes lambasted the government’s attorney because she and the plaintiffs had received little notice before the trees were cut down.
Reyes is expected to address the request that she step aside at tomorrow’s hearing. Over the weekend, the plaintiffs also asked her for a longer-lasting preliminary injunction, a stay or both.
