Controversial renovations may begin Tuesday at DC’s East Potomac golf course

By Kyle Cooper
September 1, 2026 | 4:06 AM

Tuesday, Sept. 1, is the date that President Donald Trump set for the start of a major renovation of East Potomac Golf Links in D.C.

Alex Rosen, who started the nonprofit group Save East Po to stop the announced plans, said the group is prepared to keep fighting if work begins.

“They will be breaking the law, and it will be challenged in court,” he told WTOP.

Another nonprofit, the D.C. Preservation League, has already filed a lawsuit in an effort to halt the project, which has also drawn objections from Congressional Democrats who pressed the Trump administration for details of the plans.

Related Stories

While there’s no final renovation plan in place, a map posted on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s X account in May showed a championship-level course replacing the current course. Rosen said this project has not gone through any of the normal procedures for a project of this scale.

“They have not done any of the required approvals historic place protection, environmental protection,” Rosen said.

The only activity that could resemble work on the golf course has been the recent removal of trees — about 60, in Rosen’s count. The National Park Service has said the work is routine removal of hazardous, dying, or invasive trees rather than construction tied to the redesign.

“I’ve walked the course I’ve watched them cut down trees that in my understanding are not invasive trees,” he said.

The Trump administration has publicly said it will comply with limits set by a judge, but it has not provided detailed assurances about how it will proceed if and when the project moves beyond maintenance.

Rosen said the procedures are intended to allow for community input before major irreversible decisions are made.

“This boils down to whether we the people own our public lands or if the temporary president does,” he said.

A court status hearing on the project is set for Thursday.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

By Neal Augenstein
September 1, 2026 | 10:36 AM

The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.

Read Next Story