Non-profit and D.C. residents sue Trump administration over overhaul of historic East Potomac Golf Course lease
WASHINGTON: A non-profit organization and two residents in Washington sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday seeking to stop its attempted overhaul of a more than a century-old public golf course, a court filing showed.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has targeted U.S. cultural and historical institutions – from museums and monuments to national parks and arts centers – in an attempt to reshape them.
Late last year, the Trump administration canceled a lease held by the National Links Trust to oversee three public golf courses in Washington D.C., giving a fresh opportunity for Trump to put his stamp on a part of city life.
Trump’s Interior Department said it was terminating the 50-year-lease the group received in 2020 to run the golf courses. The agency accused NLT of failing to make required investments in the properties and to pay rent.
NLT disputed the allegations that it defaulted on its lease or had not paid what was required. It said the Interior Department provided little information about the issue.
The lawsuit filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the Trump administration’s reconstruction of East Potomac Park that includes the East Potomac Golf Course violated a congressional act from 1897 which said it should be “forever held and used as a park for the recreation and pleasure of the people.”
The U.S. Interior Department was quoted by local media as saying it does not comment on pending litigation but added it would “ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable and accessible for people visiting” Washington.
The Interior Department and the National Park Service, which is a part of the department, were named as defendants in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs included non-profit group DC Preservation League and Washington residents Dave Roberts and Alex Dickson.
The lawsuit alleged the Trump administration’s actions violated environmental laws and would pollute a park on the National Register of Historic Places.
