Key facts
- The National Park Service filed a design plan in federal court calling for thinning trees and vegetation at the East Potomac Park golf course.
- A Washington Post report said the proposal includes a $304.5 million seawall project around the Hains Point peninsula.
- The administration said the October removal of 400 trees was routine maintenance unrelated to the renovation.
- A D.C. preservation group and local golfers have sued to stop the renovation.
The National Park Service disclosed plans on November 3 to cut down more trees at the East Potomac Park golf course as it carries out President Donald Trump's planned renovation of the public course, according to a design plan the Justice Department submitted in federal court.
The proposal covers the park service's course on a peninsula near the Jefferson Memorial. The design calls for thinning trees and vegetation to create open vistas comparable to when the park opened a century ago. A Washington Post report dated November 2 said the plan also includes a $304.5 million seawall project around the Hains Point peninsula and leaves unanswered how much the golf project would cost, how long construction would take and what golfers would pay.
The filing follows weeks of exchanges between Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Justice Department lawyers over whether the park service's removal of 400 trees from the course in October was routine maintenance unrelated to the president's overhaul, as the administration asserted.
Trump, who owns 15 high-end golf courses around the world, wants the historic course turned into a championship-level course. A D.C. preservation group and local golfers have sued to stop the renovation.