Washington, D.C. – The DC Preservation League and two local residents are seeking an emergency court intervention to stop the Trump-Vance administration from irreparably destroying a priceless piece of American history as it seeks to convert a public recreation space into an exclusive, high-end golf course. Democracy Forward, Lowell & Associates, and Democracy Defenders Fund represent the plaintiffs.
The request for a stay comes in DC Preservation League v. Department of the Interior, a case filed on February 13, 2026 that asks a court to stop the National Park Service from planned efforts that will undermine access to East Potomac Park and seek to build in its place, per media reports, a golf course designed for professional tournaments and private events for the president and wealthy golfers. As recently as April 30, the government maintained in court filings that “no formal decision has been made regarding the nature and scope of any renovations.” Less than 24 hours after that filing was submitted to the court, however, NOTUS reported that the Trump-Vance administration will close East Potomac Golf Course at the end of the day today, on Sunday, May 3, and begin construction – including tree-clearing – on Monday, May 4. The article goes on to confirm that “major renovations” will subsequently begin.
This comes as a Washington Post story reported that private fundraising efforts are now underway for a “championship golf course” at East Potomac that will “remake the historic public golf course.” A fundraising brochure additionally confirmed the government’s intent to transform East Potomac Park into an unrecognizable venue bearing no resemblance to its historic design and replete with features that will threaten harm to the environment.
“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,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO at Democracy Forward. “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.”
“Despite assuring the Court in this case that there would be no major changes to forward President Trump’s plan to remake the East Potomac golf course before a judicial review of whether the laws were followed and the environmental harm that could result, reports indicate that is exactly what is planned, starting today. Our emergency filing seeks to ensure those laws and commitments to the Court are upheld,” said Abbe David Lowell, Founding Member of Lowell and Associates PLLC
“Trump is taking a public park away from the American people while spending their hard—earned taxpayer dollars to build a private, elite club from which he’d personally profit,” said Democracy Defenders Fund Executive Chair Norm Eisen. “This exemplifies how it’s everyday Americans who are paying the price for the most corrupt administration in history’s grift and self-dealing.”
As the case continues, further scrutiny will be required related to potential toxins that were dumped at East Potomac Park by the administration as part of the destruction of the East Wing of the White House. Today’s filing argues that, based on preliminary results of testing, “any reliance on Defendants’ characterizations appears also to be misplaced. Test results released by Defendants on Friday, May 1, suggest the Defendants dumped a cocktail of contaminants – and despite indications of the refuse’s contents, they continued dumping it.”
The legal team at Democracy Forward working on the case includes Will Bardwell, Mark Samburg, Catherine Carroll, and Robin Thurston. The team with Lowell & Associates includes Abbe Lowell with support from Norm Eisen and the Democracy Defenders Fund.
Read today’s request for a stay here.
