Donald Trump Seeks To Reshape Washington, D.C., With East Potomac Golf Course And Sculpture Garden

President Donald Trump is pursuing a wide-ranging effort to reshape Washington, D.C., from federal buildings and parks to major pieces of the city’s waterfront landscape, according to NPR and multiple other outlets.

“One of President Donald Trump’s top fundraising lieutenants has been enlisted to solicit money for his personal endeavor to develop a new golf course and sculpture garden on a prime piece of land along the Potomac River in Washington, DC”

CNN

NPR describes how Trump has “either announced or embarked on a number of construction and renovation projects across the nation's capital,” including changes that are “seemingly temporary” such as “the huge banners of Trump's face hanging from the Justice Department, Department of Agriculture and other federal buildings.”

CNN

NPR also points to aesthetic and naming moves such as the “paved-over Rose Garden” and a “gilded Oval Office,” as well as “the addition of Trump's name to the signs on the Kennedy Center and U.S. Institute of Peace buildings.”

The same NPR report says many of the efforts in progress could reshape D.C.’s architectural landscape “for decades to come,” and it links several initiatives to the country’s “upcoming 250th anniversary in July.”

In parallel, Mother Jones reports that Trump’s plans to remake parts of Washington, DC, are “much bigger—and more expensive—than originally planned,” and it ties the golf course and sculpture garden concepts to the East Potomac Golf Course and nearby federal land.

The Washington Post and CNN both focus on fundraising documents and the looming takeover of public land for Trump’s projects, including East Potomac Golf Course and the proposed National Garden of American Heroes.

Together, the reporting portrays a campaign that is simultaneously physical—construction and renovation—and financial—new nonprofit fundraising structures—while legal challenges remain active.

Among the most concrete projects described by NPR is the resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where the report says Trump is coating the gray bottom with a shade he described as “American flag blue.”

NPR states that the “2,030-foot-long reflecting pool” has been the backdrop of “marches, speeches and inaugurations for a century,” and it notes that it “last underwent a major renovation from 2010 to 2012” for both structural fixes and aesthetic improvements, including that it was “intentionally made shallower.”

Mother Jones

The NPR report also details a specific dispute over the pool’s renovation, saying the Department of Interior “says the wrong-size pipes were installed,” which resulted in “the continued need for expensive refills (71 million additional gallons, exceeding $1 million, in 2019 alone).”

NPR adds that Trump has been talking publicly about fixing the pool “since at least November 2025,” and that he “ramped up his efforts in April after what he described as complaints about the state of the landmark.”

NPR quotes Trump’s own framing of his work, saying, “I have two jobs,” and that “I have a construction job, which is really like relaxation for me because I have been doing it my entire life.”

The same NPR report describes the Department of the Interior’s timeline, saying it expects work to be completed “by the end of May,” even as Trump said the project would cost “less than $2 million” and take “one to two weeks.”

On the golf side, NPR says the Trump administration is fighting to take control of the district’s three public golf courses, with a focus on “East Potomac Golf Links in East Potomac Park,” and it reports that Trump told the Wall Street Journal in December that “if we do them, we'll do it really beautifully.”

Mother Jones adds a vivid on-the-ground detail, saying “dump trucks carrying demolition waste and dirt started depositing their payloads in a giant pile near the 4th hole” at the East Potomac Golf Course.

As the physical projects move forward, CNN and the Washington Post describe how Trump’s fundraising apparatus is being tied to the sculpture garden and golf course plans, even as legal challenges continue.

“The many ways Trump wants to change D”

NPR

CNN reports that “Meredith O’Rourke, a longtime GOP fundraiser whom Trump has dispatched for many of his high-profile personal pursuits,” was enlisted to solicit money for “his personal endeavor to develop a new golf course and sculpture garden on a prime piece of land along the Potomac River in Washington, DC.”

CNN says O’Rourke “was the president’s national finance director during the 2024 election,” and it adds that her role was revealed in “a fundraising document included as part of an emergency court filing to the DC District Court on Sunday.”

The CNN report states that the foundation is “still awaiting approval for its tax-exempt status,” and it quotes White House spokesperson Davis Ingle saying, “President Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes will be built to reflect the awesome splendor of our country’s timeless exceptionalism.”

CNN also describes how the administration had already allocated funds for the garden, saying “$34 million through funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and $40 million from the president’s massive policy bill,” and it says the new foundation will solicit private donations as plans expanded.

The CNN report further says that “the National Garden of American Heroes, which Trump had envisioned with 250 statues to celebrate America’s 250 years, now includes additional elements such as an amphitheater and numerous fountains.”

It identifies the lead designer as Michael Curtis and lists a team including “urban planner Dhiru Thadani, architect Michael Franck, architect CJ Howard and sculptor Brian Kramer.”

CNN places the legal context directly into the courtroom, describing how “judges are hearing lawsuits challenging the pursuits over their lack of transparency and disregard for legal processes,” and it quotes Judge Ana Reyes questioning the origin and communications behind the fundraising pledge.

The sculpture garden at the center of the fundraising push is described in detail by Mother Jones and CNN, and it is also linked to the golf course redevelopment in reporting by the Washington Post.

Mother Jones says the garden is Trump’s “long-desired ‘Garden of American Heroes,’ a sculpture park on nearby federal land,” and it reports that the concept images involve “approximately 250 ‘realistic’ statues of prominent Americans, including Elvis Presley, Kobe Bryant, Alfred Hitchcock, and Dr. Seuss, among many others, according to the New York Times.”

CNN

Mother Jones adds that “The statues alone could cost more than $50 million,” while “Congress has only approved $40 million for for the project,” and it frames the garden as part of a broader chain that includes “resurfacing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in ‘American flag blue.’”

The same outlet says Trump also “hopes to add a giant triumphal arch to the Lincoln Memorial area, which would overshadow the memorial itself,” and it describes the president’s monument fixation by noting, “Yesterday, he posted a picture online of his own face photoshopped onto Mount Rushmore.”

CNN provides additional specifics on the garden’s evolving design, stating that the National Garden of American Heroes “now includes additional elements such as an amphitheater and numerous fountains,” and it ties the garden to the 250th anniversary framing by referencing “250 statues to celebrate America’s 250 years.”

CNN also identifies the lead designer as Michael Curtis and names the project team, including “Dhiru Thadani,” “Michael Franck,” “CJ Howard,” and “Brian Kramer,” while describing the foundation’s fundraising role.

CNN reports that the administration has not yet submitted the plans to the Commission of Fine Arts or the National Capital Planning Commission, saying “Plans for the garden have not been submitted to the Commission of Fine Arts or the National Capital Planning Commission — two government agencies whose approval is needed before it can be built.”

It also says that “sources close to the project say it is unlikely that any sculptures will be delivered by July 4, the deadline,” and it adds that “Foundries and artists from across the country who applied to work on the sculptures, which would take months to build, haven’t heard from the Trump administration.”

The reporting also emphasizes cost, access, and the possibility of public backlash as the administration pushes ahead with golf course changes and the sculpture garden concept.

“One of President Donald Trump’s top fundraising lieutenants has been enlisted to solicit money for his personal endeavor to develop a new golf course and sculpture garden on a prime piece of land along the Potomac River in Washington, DC”

CNN

NPR says the Interior Department has told NPR that Trump is committed to keeping the course accessible, and it adds that “affordability remains a priority,” while noting that “All three municipal courses had been managed by the nonprofit National Links Trust.”

Mother Jones

NPR further states that the Department of the Interior “terminated the trust's 50-year lease in December,” accusing the nonprofit of failing to fulfill all the terms of its lease, and it describes how local golfers sued the administration in February.

Mother Jones adds that the concept images for the golf course “seem to eliminate most non-golf activities that presently exist in East Potomac,” including “disappearing the park’s bike paths and open spaces where people picnic in the summers.”

The Washington Post frames the controversy through a fundraising document and includes a reader-facing summary that highlights opposition to redeveloping East Potomac Park, including concerns about “the potential privatization of public spaces” and the argument that “the park should remain accessible to ordinary citizens for recreation and...”

CNN describes how the legal challenges include “lawsuits challenging the pursuits over their lack of transparency and disregard for legal processes,” and it reports that at a DC District Court hearing Monday over the emergency filing, Judge Ana Reyes indicated she wanted confirmation that the fundraising message was real.

CNN quotes Reyes’s skepticism about the communications behind the fundraising pledge, including her statement that such a fundraising pledge would not have been sent on a “whim” and her suspicion that “someone with knowledge about the plans for the East Potomac golf course would have been in communication the fundraiser.”

CNN also includes Reyes’s direct admonition about the timing of actions, quoting, “Act first and ask for forgiveness later … that’s not going to” (cut off in the provided text).

In the background of these disputes, NPR includes Neil Flanagan’s critique that Trump’s approach is distinct because of “his ‘insistence on making it so much about his own style and his own brand and wearing this glory of America's past is distinct to this term.’”