October 12, 2026 - Washington D.C. – The DC Preservation League and two local residents are asking a court to 
take immediate action to stop the Trump-Vance administration from further irreversible implementation of their plan to irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history as it seeks to convert a public recreation space into an exclusive, high-end golf course. Democracy Forward, Lowell & Associates, and Democracy Defenders Fund represent the plaintiffs.
The request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) comes in DC Preservation League v. Department of the Interior, a case filed on February 13, 2026 that asks a court to stop the Washington National plan, the National Park Service’s planned efforts that will undermine access to East Potomac Park and seek to build in its place a golf course designed for professional tournaments and private events for the president and wealthy golfers. That complaint was amended in September to reflect new facts in the case, including the unlawful and hazardous dumping happening at the park.
The administration has repeatedly told the court that they would not take irreversible action to implement their transformation of East Potomac Golf Course without completing various legal review processes and providing public notice as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
But on Friday at 4:55 p.m ET, the government announced their intent to begin — barely 12 hours later — a massive operation to clear hundreds of trees at East Potomac Golf Course. By 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, the government’s workers had arrived in full force to begin felling hundreds of trees, including healthy, mature oaks and maples. By Sunday afternoon, despite claiming that the work would proceed in stages over time, the government informed the plaintiffs that 529 trees were razed on Saturday alone, with hundreds more still slated to be cut as soon as the weather permits.
“Defendants would have this Court believe that this unprecedented operation is merely the sudden and purely coincidental fulfillment of recommendations posited in a Cultural Landscapes Report seven years ago and is totally unrelated to the ongoing implementation of the Washington National plan,” the coalition wrote in their request. “Even if Defendants were entitled to the benefit of the doubt, they are not entitled to a suspension of disbelief.”
“Providing just 12 hours’ notice regarding tree removal at East Potomac fails to honor previous commitments of timely communication made to the court and the plaintiffs. These procurement contracts required significant time to finalize, making this sudden execution a deliberate effort by the NPS and Department of the Interior to bypass judicial review and jeopardize a protected historic resource. The court needs to step in and stop this now,” said Rebecca Miller, Executive Director of the DC Preservation League.
“The administration is using a preservation report as cover to begin tearing out the course it was written to save. Filing late on a Friday and cutting trees at dawn the next morning sure seems to skirt everything this court asked of the administration. They seem to be moving forward any way they can, and looking for loopholes to get there,” said Alex Dickson, one of the plaintiffs in the matter.
“The actions of the administration over the last 48 hours should make it crystal clear that this has never been about trees or even about a golf course. This desecration of our public lands is yet another way that the Trump administration has exploited federal loopholes and the purposefully deliberate nature of the legal system to impart its will on the people of the DMV. It’s well past time to stop taking this administration at its word and start holding them accountable for following the same laws as the people they claim to represent,” said Dave Roberts, one of the plaintiffs in the matter.
“This is a tactic we’re seen before from the Trump-Vance administration – act quickly to irrevocably alter a cherished national landmark, just to advance another one of President Trump’s pet vanity projects,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “We are asking the court to act quickly before further unnecessary damage is done to a jewel of our national park system. We are honored to represent our clients with our co-counsel to protect against this unlawful attack on our vital public spaces.”
“’Pulling a fast one’ has become the model this administration uses to circumvent the laws intended to protect the environment and D.C. landmarks. It did so with the East Wing and the Kennedy Center and we are continuing our effort to stop them before they succeed in destroying D.C.’s historic public golf course,” said Abbe D. Lowell, founding member of Lowell & Associates, PLLC.
“Unleashing a surprise demolition razing over 500 historic trees in this public park and claiming it is part of maintenance from a dated, years old landscaping plan is yet another brazen, lawless power grab that has become routine for the Trump administration,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.) cofounder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. “The administration thinks it can bypass the courts with bad-faith pretexts and weekend ambushes, but we will fight this lawlessness and hold Trump’s minions fully accountable in court.”
The legal team at Democracy Forward working on the case includes Will Bardwell, Mark Samburg, Catherine Carroll, and Robin Thurston. The team with Lowell & Associates includes Abbe Lowell with support from Norm Eisen and the Democracy Defenders Fund.
Read the filing here.
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
Source: Democracy Forward Foundation