WASHINGTON, D.C.: Adding to the list of legal battles challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to stamp his name on public spaces in Washington, D.C., two golfers sued the administration late last week to stop them from overhauling a more than 100-year-old public golf course.

The lawsuit claimed the administration was violating environmental laws and polluting a park that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The suit comes on the heels of the Kennedy Center's closure.

At the end of last year, a group working to protect historic buildings filed a lawsuit to stop the government from tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build a new ballroom that is expected to cost US$400 million.

President Trump, who enjoys playing golf, also plans to renovate a military golf course near Washington that many past presidents have used for decades.

A complaint filed lats last week against the U.S. Department of the Interior says the Trump administration's rebuilding of East Potomac Park — which includes the East Potomac Golf Course — breaks the law that created the park in 1897. That old law said the park should be used for the public's recreation and enjoyment.

The golf course is listed on the National Register of Historic Places partly because it helped racial integration in the 1940s. Public city-owned golf courses make up only about 18 percent of all golf courses in the United States.

One Washington resident involved in the lawsuit, Dave Roberts, said the golf course shows how public land should benefit everyone and should not be turned into a waste site or a private space for the wealthy and powerful.

The lawsuit came after the Trump administration ended a lease in December with the nonprofit National Links Trust, which had been managing East Potomac and two other golf courses. The Interior Department said the nonprofit had not completed the required improvements and had not met the lease conditions.

The department said it does not comment on ongoing court cases but added it wants the courses to remain safe, affordable, and open to the public. The White House did not reply to requests for comment.

According to the lawsuit, construction work at the golf course has already started. In October, the National Park Service allegedly began dumping debris from the East Wing demolition at the site, raising fears that harmful materials could pollute the air.

Because of this, the people suing say the administration also violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to properly assess the environmental risks.

The National Links Trust said it was "devastated" when the lease was ended and defended its work. It said it had invested $8.5 million in improvements and had more than doubled the number of games played and its revenue. It also warned that ending the lease could cost many local jobs. The nonprofit will continue to manage the courses for now, but long-term renovation plans have been put on hold.

The first 18 holes of the golf course were built between 1918 and 1923.