National Links Trust files stay request to halt Trump takeover of D.C. golf course

Debris and soil from the White House East Wing demolition began showing up at East Potomac Golf Course in 2025. Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images Share articlePresident Donald Trump spent Sunday at his golf course in Miami, watching Cameron Young handle poor weather and a lackluster crowd during a runaway victory at the Cadillac Championship. Of far more intrigue was what was happening in Washington, where his administration’s attempted takeover of a public golf course in that city took its next steps. Lawyers representing the National Links Trust (NLT) filed an emergency stay request Sunday afternoon to halt the Trump administration’s reported plans to take over the East Potomac Golf Course after Sunday. NOTUS reported late Friday that the National Park Service will close the course and begin renovations, with one of Trump’s preferred architects, Tom Fazio, handling the work. It was news to the NLT, which holds a 50-year lease with NPS to rehabilitate East Potomac and two other public courses in D.C., and its legal team at Democracy Forward. Up until Friday, the administration had maintained that no final decision had been made, “regarding the nature and scope of the renovations.” The emergency stay is being heard in the District Court for the District of Columbia. “Despite attestations to the court, the Trump-Vance administration appears to be moving forward aggressively to shut down DC’s largest public golf course to explore another of the president’s pet projects to benefit himself,” Skye Perryman, President and CEO at Democracy Forward, said in a statement. “We are asking the court to act urgently to save this important part of our national park system from being another casualty of a reckless administration. We are honored for the partnership of our plaintiffs in fighting back against this unlawful assault on our valued public spaces, and we are eager to argue this case.” The National Links Trust signed its 50-year lease with the National Parks Service in 2020 to take over management of East Potomac and its sister courses, Rock Creek and Langston. They are the best and most affordable options for D.C. residents, and NLT aimed to renovate all three. But Trump has eyed the East Potomac property, which features sight lines to the Washington Monument on almost every hole, and began to make moves at the end of last year toward taking it back from NLT. The Department of the Interior filed a notice of termination on Dec. 31, arguing NLT has not been able to meet a renovation timeline. NLT, for its part, has argued that it’s made steady progress, including cutting through layers of government red tape to make any changes necessary to the properties. It broke ground at Rock Creek in November. The DC Preservation League and two area residents filed an injunction in February seeking to stop the administration’s plans to overhaul East Potomac Golf Links into a championship-level course. The lawsuit came after truckloads of dirt and debris from the White House East Wing ballroom demolition project were dumped onto the East Potomac grounds without explanation. “The East Potomac Golf Links is a unique cultural landscape that reflects the history of recreation in the nation’s capital. Altering its historic character would undermine a site meant to be accessible to the public,” Rebecca Miller, Executive Director of DC Preservation League, said in a new release announcing the lawsuit. NOTUS reported that the administration will offer NLT a renewed lease at Rock Creek. The Washington Post reported Friday that the Washington Commanders were approached about taking over Langston, which has a rich history in the city’s Black community. NLT has still been operating the courses, including a full tee sheet Sunday at East Potomac, and is hoping to mediate and find a solution that could work for everyone involved. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms