Trump pushes controversial championship golf project on flood-prone East Potomac Island

President Donald Trump declared that work on a new championship-level golf course at East Potomac Park will commence on September 1, after touring the site with architect Tom Fazio and touting the location’s views of DC monuments. The 330-acre island, created from 19th-century dredge fill, is sinking at least five feet and sits within a 100-year floodplain, with a deteriorating seawall that frequently allows river water to inundate the perimeter.

Conservationists such as Rebecca Miller of the DC Preservation League and experts from the National Parks Conservation Association argue the plan ignores the site’s hydrology and would require massive, expensive fill, yet the administration has begun dumping roughly 30,000 cubic yards of White House rubble on the existing course. Past redevelopment attempts, including a failed Olympic-size pool project, ended after flood-related setbacks and a $14 million loss.

Federal Judge Ana Reyes declined an injunction but ordered regular updates before any bulldozers move. Opponents fear the venture could replicate the Reflecting Pool fiasco, leaving the park unusable after the president leaves office.