Toxic debris from Trump’s ballroom project is being dumped at a public golf course, report finds

Toxic debris from President Trump’s ballroom project is being dumped at a public golf course, a report has found. ​

The debris, which comes from the White House’s demolished East Wing, tested positive for lead, a study shared by the National Park Service said. ​The study also detected pesticides, chromium, PCBs, petroleum byproducts and other toxic chemicals exceeding laboratory reporting limits.

Some 30,000 cubic yards of excavated soil from the $400 million ballroom project have been dumped on the East Potomac Golf Links since October 2025, the report adds. A total of 30 samples were collected by Jacobs Engineering Group from October 28 to April 2. ​

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A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told the The Associated Press Tuesday that the debris was tested “multiple times, by multiple parties, and this project passed all standards set by law.”

​The spokesperson went on to claim that a “thorough process was followed to ensure the transfer was safe for the public.”

​Trump reportedly expressed an interest in rebranding the East Potomac Golf Links last year, according to Politico sources, and was said to have autographed a new golden logo similar to those at his other clubs. ​

Under the reported plans, the site would be called the “Washington National Golf Course.”

Sources told NOTUS as recently as May 1 that the Trump administration was still planning to renovate the course. According to those sources, the administration was planning to take over the site on Sunday with landscaping, deferred maintenance and tree-clearing scheduled for Monday.​

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Renovations were scheduled to follow, once a design was approved by the NPS.

However, a spokesperson for the National Links Trust, which operates the course, told the outlet that the news was a “complete surprise.”

​“We have also not received any offer of a lease at Rock Creek Park Golf,” the spokesperson said. “For the sake of our community and employees, we hope to have clarity as soon as possible.”​

On May 3, Democracy Forward announced in a press release that the DC Preservation League and two local residents were seeking an emergency court intervention to stop the renovation. ​Democracy Forward is one of the three organizations representing the plaintiffs.

​U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes said during a remote hearing that she would not issue a temporary restraining order in the DC Preservation League case. Instead, she told the NPS that it must discuss its plans with government lawyers if it is going to cut down more than 10 trees.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.

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