WASHINGTON
Two golfers have sued the federal government to stop the Trump administration from overhauling a more than 100-year-old public course in the nation’s capital, arguing the project violates an 1897 law that created the park for the people—not a presidential renovation.
The lawsuit, filed Friday against the Department of the Interior, targets the planned reconstruction of East Potomac Park and its historic golf course.
The complaint alleges the administration is violating environmental laws and polluting a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
At the heart of the legal challenge is a roughly 130-year-old congressional act that established the park “for the recreation and the pleasure of the people.” The golfers argue that the Trump administration’s overhaul betrays that mandate.
The suit is the latest in a growing series of legal battles challenging President Donald Trump’s ambitious efforts to reshape public spaces in Washington.
An avid golfer himself, Trump has also set his sights on renovating a military golf course just outside the city that has been used by presidents for decades.
Late last year, a group of preservationists filed a similar lawsuit seeking to block the administration from demolishing the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom.
The East Potomac Park project, critics say, represents another front in the same fight: a president determined to leave his mark on the capital’s landscape, and citizens determined to protect public land they say belongs to everyone.
By James Kisoo
