Legal Challenge Highlights New Claims in Effort to Preserve East Potomac Park From Ongoing Unlawful Trump-Vance Administration Assault
September 18, 2026
Updated complaint includes new facts as work has continued on site despite legal challenge
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The DC Preservation League and two local residents are seeking permission to file an updated complaint in their legal effort to protect East Potomac Park and its golf course. The proposed amended complaint challenges the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful and hazardous dumping at the park as part of an effort to convert the public recreation space into an exclusive, high-end golf course. Plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward Foundation, Lowell & Associates and Democracy Defenders Fund.
“The DC Preservation League remains committed to preserving and protecting the historic East Potomac Golf Links and East Potomac Park,” said Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League. “This unique cultural landscape holds a unique place in our city’s history. Destroying the Golf Links’ historic character and expanding the course to limit other recreational opportunities would undermine Congress’s designation that decreed this site will be forever held as a public park for the recreation and pleasure of the people.”
“The administration has shown complete disregard for the golfers who have kept East Potomac busy for more than 100 years. This filing is on behalf of everyone who loves and uses this park every day and wants it protected from a transformation nobody asked for,” said Alex Dickson, one of the plaintiffs in the matter.
The complaint filed today is an updated version of a complaint first filed in February, and updates the allegations to account for facts that have developed since February, as well as to include additional legal claims. Among the new legal claims are allegations that constructing a new golf course would be erecting a “structure” on the site, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 8106, which states that a “building or structure shall not be erected on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress.” The amended complaint also focuses on how the administration’s unlawful dumping of debris from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House created a “solid waste disposal site” at East Potomac, violating 54 U.S.C. § 100903(a).
“This updated complaint exposes the full scope of the administration’s brazen overreach at East Potomac Park, from unlawfully scheming to build on this historic public land to dumping toxic White House debris on the grounds,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. “We will not stand by while public lands and community health are sacrificed for yet another unlawful vanity project.”
“The Trump-Vance administration is unlawfully implementing a plan to transform East Potomac Park in a way that has already begun to irrevocably harm the quality of the environment, affect historic property, violate the National Parks Service’s statutory mandate and other laws, and illegally undermine the park’s purpose ‘for the recreation and pleasure of the people,’” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “The administration is clearly breaking multiple laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act to the National Historic Preservation Act, as it pushes forward with its plan and we are proud to work with these organizations and local residents to protect the East Potomac park that they cherish.”
The case is DC Preservation League et. al. v. Department of the Interior, et. al. and 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 today’s filing here.
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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement.
Lowell & Associates, PLLC provides strategic and principled legal representation across civil, criminal, compliance, congressional and regulatory matters. The firm brings a deep understanding of both the law and the broader context in which our clients operate, serving individuals, businesses and institutions that value experienced counsel and effective advocacy in today’s legal environment.
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