{"id":63896,"date":"2026-06-28T15:08:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T19:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/trump-announces-september-start-for-east-potomac-golf-course-overhaul-amid-d-c-monument-restorations\/63896\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T15:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T19:08:17","slug":"trump-announces-september-start-for-east-potomac-golf-course-overhaul-amid-d-c-monument-restorations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/trump-announces-september-start-for-east-potomac-golf-course-overhaul-amid-d-c-monument-restorations\/63896\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Announces September Start for East Potomac Golf Course Overhaul Amid D.C. Monument Restorations"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Construction of the new East Potomac Golf Links is scheduled to begin September 1, 2026<\/strong>, following a site inspection by President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renowned architect Tom Fazio will lead the redesign<\/strong>, transforming the site into a 7,660-yard championship-level course capable of hosting the <strong>U.S. Open<\/strong>, <strong>Ryder Cup<\/strong>, and <strong>PGA Championship<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool remains operational<\/strong> but will be drained for permanent repairs following the July 4th holiday due to alleged vandalism of its &quot;American Flag Blue&quot; lining.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Over 70 statues, monuments, and fountains across Washington D.C. have been renovated<\/strong>, according to administration reports, as part of a broader &quot;beautification&quot; initiative ahead of the nation&#39;s 250th anniversary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that major construction on the <strong>East Potomac Golf Links<\/strong> will officially commence on <strong>September 1, 2026<\/strong>. The project, managed through the <strong>Department of the Interior<\/strong>, aims to replace the current &quot;dilapidated&quot; municipal facilities with a world-class public course. Trump conducted a site tour alongside Secretary of the Interior <strong>Doug Burgum<\/strong> and lead architect <strong>Tom Fazio<\/strong>, reviewing blueprints for a layout designed to meet the highest professional standards.<\/p>\n<p>The redesign will consolidate the existing three-course municipal complex into a singular, <strong>7,660-yard par-72 championship course<\/strong>. According to official renderings from <strong>Fazio Design<\/strong>, the new facility will include a massive double-sided driving range and a nine-hole pitch-and-putt course. While the administration has emphasized that the course will remain open to the public at &quot;highly discounted rates&quot; for local residents, the project has faced criticism from preservationists for bypassing traditional federal review processes and terminating the previous lease held by the <strong>National Links Trust<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the golf course developments, Trump provided an update on the <strong>Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/strong>, which has been plagued by algae blooms and peeling paint since its <strong>$14.7 million<\/strong> renovation earlier this year. Trump attributed the damage to &quot;radical left vandals&quot; who he claims used sharp implements to slash the pool&#39;s waterproof lining. The <strong>National Park Service (NPS)<\/strong> confirmed in court filings that it intends to drain the pool for extensive repairs immediately following the <strong>July 4th<\/strong> celebrations.<\/p>\n<p>The administration also reported the successful restoration of dozens of historic sites across the capital. Trump stated that <strong>73 statues, monuments, and fountains<\/strong> have been returned to &quot;perfect condition&quot; after years of neglect and vandalism. These efforts are part of a wider &quot;Make DC Safe and Beautiful&quot; task force, which has also overseen the repair of nearly <strong>1,700 lights<\/strong> and the installation of over <strong>1,100 benches<\/strong> throughout the city&#39;s federal parklands.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the reported progress, the projects remain a flashpoint for political and legal debate. Democratic lawmakers and organizations like <strong>The Cultural Landscape Foundation<\/strong> have raised concerns regarding the lack of transparency and the awarding of multi-million dollar no-bid contracts. As the <strong>September 1st<\/strong> construction date approaches, the administration continues to frame these projects as essential to restoring the &quot;prestige&quot; of Washington D.C. in time for the <strong>2026 Semiquincentennial<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Construction of the new East Potomac Golf Links is scheduled to begin September 1, 2026, following a site [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[4335,4865,5391,8512,14907,19764,19765,19766],"class_list":["post-63896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-donald-trump","tag-infrastructure","tag-real-estate","tag-washington-d-c","tag-nps","tag-east-potomac-golf-links","tag-department-of-the-interior","tag-tom-fazio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}