The National Links Trust, the non-profit that operates several National Park Service-owned golf courses in Washington, D.C., is not renewing its lease of the East Potomac Golf Links, paving the way for the course to close within the next three weeks.
The news comes as President Donald Trump’s Interior Department has aimed to reconstruct the links on the Potomac River, while facing legal pushback from the DC Preservation League, which has argued the administration has not followed the proper environmental or historic protocols and that the remodel of the public course could inflate tee time prices. The group’s lawsuit against the Trump administration has turned into a heated legal battle over the course’s future.
The trust announced the lease update on Thursday, saying the NLT’s “role at East Potomac Golf Links will end on or before November 15, 2026,” while signing new leases for its two other courses — the Rock Creek Park Golf and Langston Golf Course — for 50 years.
The Trump administration notified Biden-appointed Judge Ana C. Reyes in a court filing yesterday that the department would move forward with its plans to renovate the East Potomac Golf Links, saying that it would be submitting a review of the design for a “championship-level golf course” designed by Tom Fazio to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday.
“The Fazio plan will be submitted to the NCPC for consideration at its December 3, 2026, meeting. 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,” Department of Justice lawyers wrote to the court.
Based on that court filing, the Department of Interior would be closing off the entire southern tip of East Potomac Park, which includes the East Potomac Golf Links and Hains Point.
Reyes had previously ordered the administration to notify the court in writing at least 10 business days before closing or making “any irreparable modification” to the facility.
The golf course has long been a fixation of Trump’s, who developed golf courses before becoming president.
“East Potomac Golf Course is highly dangerous, dilapidated, and absolutely disgusting,” the president said on Truth Social. “The gaping holes in the driving range’s “protective” netting are highly hazardous. Golf balls soar through the holes at high speed and hit unexpecting Golfers—including a White House staffer who was, sadly, hit violently in the chest.”
The Trump administration and the National Links Trust had sparred over the lease back in January, with the Trump administration claiming the lease over the East Potomac course was already severed, though the National Links Trust disagreed with the administration and stayed on as operators to keep the course open. Thursday’s announcement formally ends the lease relationship over the East Potomac course between the Trust and the Interior Department.
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The National Links Trust had signed a 50-year lease with the National Park Service to operate the district’s East Potomac, Langston, and Rock Creek golf courses in 2020. Their new, superseding lease, signed on Oct. 28, applies only to the latter two courses.
Reyes has set a hearing for Friday at 10:00 a.m.