Federal Judge Hears Case on Future of D.C. Public Golf Course

A federal judge weighing the future of an expansive Washington park insisted this week she had no intention of becoming Amy Poehler, the actress who spent seven seasons memorably playing the head of a local parks and recreation department. The project has been on his mind lately.

During an hour-plus speech Monday to small-business owners, Trump spent about nine minutes talking about the paint job on a federal building, detailing the granite floor and stating that he reduced the renovation’s cost to $1.9 million from an initial $350 million estimate.

Trump’s next project might be East Potomac Park, home to an affordable, accessible public golf course with views of the Washington Monument. The president has talked of transforming it into a posh facility. Signs were posted this week warning of a disruption at the White House and preservation advocates took the government to court as debris dumped there from the White House East Wing demolition tested positive for lead.

The White House told a planning agency that it would cost taxpayers at least $7.5 million to follow through on Trump’s plan to paint the granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building white.

All the President’s Projects Over the past year, Trump has bulldozed the East Wing to make way for a ballroom. His name was added to the facades of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center, which he plans to close for a two-year renovation.

His face adorns a banner at the Department of Justice’s headquarters, among others. Trump is pushing for a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery and has closed parks, including Lafayette Square across from the White House, for a rehab. He is guaranteeing himself a lasting imprint on a city where he won just 6.5% of the vote in 2024.

He is flexing executive power over federal properties in Washington. Presidential historian Julian Zelizer of Princeton University said it is not a zero-sum game but that all presidents have limited amounts of capital they can use and limited amounts of attention that they have to give.

Trump rejects such concerns.

defending slim congressional majorities, the focus on Washington construction projects presents challenges. Many would prefer to talk about policy accomplishments, including tax cuts. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll conducted in late April found that 52% of Americans oppose Trump’s planned arch.

That includes about 6 in 10 independents while 51% of Republicans favor it. Americans oppose the ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, driven largely by Democrats and independents. About 2 in 10 Republicans oppose the project, according to the poll. The poll did not find a notable shift in support of the ballroom after a shooting at last month’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

Trump has cited that incident in his push for a secure facility. Republican senators added $1 billion in White House security upgrades for the ballroom to an unrelated bill this week.

Change in Washington In a city where historic preservation is often sacred, the pace of change has been rapid. Rebecca Miller, the executive director of DC Preservation League, has spent 23 years at the organization, which sued to stop the golf course takeover and joined a coalition attempting to force the Kennedy Center to comply with preservation laws.

She said one of the problems right now is an administration that seems to think that it can just plow ahead without any input and that these assets are owned by the people of the United States. This is not the first time a White House has taken an interest in Washington’s appearance.

During Lyndon Johnson’s administration, first lady Lady Bird Johnson oversaw beautification efforts that included planting trees and flowers throughout the District of Columbia. Mark Updegrove, chairman of the LBJ Foundation and a presidential historian, said Lady Bird Johnson was trying to bring out the natural beauty of Washington.

Trump’s assertion of power over Washington, including the continued deployment of National Guard troops, has animated the city’s Democratic primary next month for key local offices, including mayor and delegate to Congress. The first question at a forum for mayoral candidates this week focused on how to protect the Home Rule Act, the 1973 law that gave the city limited self-government.

The candidates said they would stand up to the president as needed. Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. Council member and top candidate in the mayor’s race, said city officials need to do a better job of making their case in Congress for statehood.