Park Service quietly awards contracts to work on Trump’s takeover of East Potomac golf course

The Trump administration has awarded contracts to commence work on President Donald Trump's proposed acquisition of the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., according to Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee. Rep. Jared Huffman, the panel's top Democrat, disclosed during a committee hearing that the National Park Service engaged a civil engineering firm to initiate work on the historic public golf course, without prior public notice or congressional notification.

A lawsuit challenging Trump's plan to revamp the golf course contends that the administration's redevelopment would contravene the congressional act that established the park over a century ago. Huffman emphasized that the East Potomac Park is "not just any old golf course" but a cherished public space with significant historical importance, adding that Trump is "systematically moving to take this historic, publicly accessible resource and turn it into another gilded private golf club for the mega-rich."