Justice Department confirms Trump's plan for golf course with closure next month

The Department of Justice confirmed in a court filing on Wednesday night that statements from President Donald Trump regarding the closure of East Potomac Park from 15 November and plans to redevelop its golf course are true.According to the legal document, "On Friday, October 30, 2026, the National Park Service will submit to the National Capital Planning Commission for review a rendering designed by Tom Fazio for a World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events—such as the U.S. Open" alongside other events.The submission added: "Thereafter, on November 15, 2026, the National Park Service will close East Potomac Park south of Buckeye Drive, including the Golf Course, consistent with the President’s directive,".Members of the planning commission are scheduled to review the project during a meeting on 3 December 2026.This legal notice is the latest development in a 10-day period triggered by an 18 October message posted on social media by Trump. In the post, he announced that the park would close on 15 November for 15 months while undergoing work to turn it into what the president called a world-class facility.The social media statements prompted a lawsuit from the DC Preservation League and two golfers, leading to several court hearings. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes granted a preliminary injunction on 26 October, pointing to the gap between public claims made by the president and testimonies from officials within the Justice Department, Interior Department, and National Park Service, who stated under oath that they were unaware of the plans.The court order temporarily stops the government from removing or harming any further trees on the grounds of the East Potomac Golf Course. For the duration of the lawsuit, the administration must provide 10 days’ written notice before undertaking any "irreparable modification" to the course’s "forms or features".A golfer watches as trees are removed at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Reyes was planning another hearing to bring officials back to court to explain why the president continued to announce plans that said they had no knowledge of.Wednesday's filing explained that the National Park Service entered into a new lease agreement with the National Links Trust — the company currently responsible for operating the East Potomac Golf Course — under which the National Links Trust will cease operating the East Potomac Golf Course as of the close of business on or before Nov. 15, 2026, but will continue to operate two other public golf courses.Trump's social media posts on the renovation of the historic golf course had put Justice Department lawyers in the uncomfortable position of explaining whether the president of the United States should be believed or not.On Tuesday, Reyes said the department should clarify “whether any plan exists to close East Potomac Golf Course on or around November 15, 2026.” She ordered Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. to appear in court Friday or Monday for a status hearing.Tuesday’s order came in response to Trump’s social media post late Monday criticizing Reyes’ temporary injunction stopping work at East Potomac Park. That injunction, issued Monday, was in large part due to previous Trump announcements — via social media — that plans had been completed for the golf course and construction would begin next month. Trump said the facility would be closed for 15 months. The following day he set the timetable to “immediately.”Much of the activity in the court has accelerated this month, after the government gave the plaintiffs in the case short notice on plans to cut down hundreds of trees at the course.Workers remove trees at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington (AP)The plaintiffs challenging the project claim the work is inflicting irreversible damage. Critics say Trump’s plan will make playing there unaffordable for the general public and destroy the site’s other uses. The course renovation project is part of Trump’s aggressive campaign to leave his personal imprint on Washington’s historic landscape. Those plans include construction of a huge ballroom at the White House, a massive arch, and the creation of a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park. The DC Preservation League is part of a coalition of organizations, including the Cultural Landscape Foundation and one D.C. resident, who have filed lawsuits challenging those plans.There are several cases where judges have taken actions and issued injunctions or restraining orders because of the Trump administration’s push to begin work despite the pending lawsuits.