President Donald Trump's golf courses could end up polluting streams and wetlands under a new rule by his administration.
"The Trump administration on Thursday will finalize a rule to strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands and other water bodies, handing a victory to farmers, fossil fuel producers and real estate developers who said Obama-era rules had shackled them with onerous and unnecessary burdens," The New York Times reported Wednesday.
"Mr. Trump, whose own real estate and golf-course businesses almost certainly ran the Obama-administration rule, has called the regulation 'horrible,' 'destructive' and 'one of the worst examples of federal' overreach. Golf course developers were among the key opponents of the Obama rule, and key backers of the new Trump rule," The Times noted.
Trump owns golf courses in California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Four of those states are considered potential swing states in the 2020 presidential election, with Florida having 29 electoral votes, North Carolina having 15 electoral votes, Pennsylvania having 20 electoral votes and Virginia having 13. Combined, the states account for 77 of the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the 2020 campaign.
According to Trump Golf Count, the former reality TV star has spent 244 days at golf courses as president.
