President Donald Trump's administration has moved to terminate the lease of a nonprofit that has run the Washington, D.C. golf courses for years, putting the future of these courses in uncertainty and raising the possibility Trump could move to put his own influence on them.
According to The Washington Post, "The Interior Department issued the termination letter Tuesday, formally severing ties with the nonprofit National Links Trust, which has managed Langston Golf Course, Rock Creek Park Golf and East Potomac Golf Links — all public courses on federal land — under a lease agreement since 2020. In the letter, Interior officials said the decision was based on what they described as National Links Trust’s failure to complete required capital improvements and to provide a satisfactory plan to cure alleged defaults under the lease."
National Links Trust responded with a statement that they were "devastated" by the revocation, and added that they are “fundamentally in disagreement with the administration’s characterization” of how they managed the courses. They also vowed to remain operating the courses for the time being to avoid a disruption that would cost people their jobs.
Trump's move against D.C.'s golf courses "marks an extraordinary federal intervention into the management of District recreational assets and reflects a broader push by President Donald Trump to remake high-profile civic spaces in the nation’s capital, including the Kennedy Center and White House grounds, while expanding the federal government’s role in policing the city," noted the report.
Trump, an avid golfer himself who is known for taking routine golfing breaks from the presidency at inopportune moments, has made a number of other moves to radically transform D.C.
Earlier this week, a new report revealed Trump wants to demolish 13 historic D.C. buildings, setting up a fight between himself and local preservationists.
