Trump's attempted takeover of DC golf courses sets off controversy

Source: msn/The Hill

11h


President Trump is eyeing a takeover of the Washington, D.C., public golf system, but local golf officials and elected leaders are vowing not to cede control of the city’s affordable courses. The administration earlier this fall sent a notice of default to the National Links Trust, the local public-private nonprofit that has overseen and operated D.C.’s three municipal golf courses since 2020.

The notice, first reported by The Washington Post, came only five years after the nonprofit signed a 50-year lease with the National Park Service, which reports to the president through the Department of the Interior and owns the land the three courses are built on. When the lease was signed, the goal was to redesign and renovate the historic sites where the courses sit, using money from private donors and the district government.

The Links Trust’s mission from its inception has been to maintain affordability and access for D.C.’s local golf scene, a unique undertaking in an area known across the country for its elite country clubs and private courses, including one of the president’s signature facilities in Northern Virginia. The administration has not said specifically why the Links Trust is in default or how it could address concerns about its operating plans.

Trump’s efforts are widely seen as a first step by the president to take over the courses for potential redevelopment and put his mark on the D.C. golf scene permanently — just as he did last week by renaming the Kennedy Center after himself. “These are historic, important public courses that have a rich history of affordability and access,” said Charles Allen, a member of the D.C. council and avid golfer. “It concerns me to have the Trump administration terminate the lease for, let’s be honest, made-up reasons. It seems to be about a grab of the land for the wealthy and well connected.”

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