Trump says D.C. golf course construction will start next month

President Trump said Sunday that construction on a historic Washington, D.C., golf course will begin next month, despite an ongoing court challenge to his long-sought renovation of the East Potomac Golf Links course.

"I am pleased to announce that the Department of the Interior, under the auspices of Secretary Doug Burgum, and in conjunction with famed Golf Course Architect, Tom Fazio, has developed a plan to build a World Class Championship Golf Course on the site of the current East Potomac Golf Links, located in Washington, D.C.," Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

The president, who did not acknowledge the court challenge in his post, said that while the new golf course would remain open to the public, it would also be designed to host tournaments like the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. He also billed it as a "tremendously positive" economic opportunity for D.C. that would "create many jobs."

Mr. Trump described the current course as an "old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect ... with falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees, and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall." He said the site "was famous for no trees" originally but has since become "overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe."

Mr. Trump said construction will begin Nov. 15 on the course, which will be closed for about 15 months until the new one opens.

His announcement Sunday came less than a week after a federal judge barred the Trump administration from removing trees at the current golf course through Oct. 16, after hundreds of trees were cut down the weekend prior.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said in the order that until that date, the administration may not make "any irreparable modification" to the East Potomac course without first providing three business days' notice of such plans to the court, as well as to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to stop Mr. Trump's planned overhaul of the site. 

"The administration has time and again tried to avoid the law in their mad rush toward converting a public recreation space to a high-end golf course and today's order will stop them from doing further irreparable harm to a precious public resource," said attorneys for the plaintiffs, the D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers, in response to the judge's order. "We are pleased that the court intervened and will prevent additional work while we seek more lasting relief."