{"id":380782,"date":"2026-01-01T04:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T04:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380782\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T04:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T04:18:12","slug":"trump-administration-terminates-nonprofits-control-over-dc-golf-courses-in-possible-takeover-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380782\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration terminates nonprofit\u2019s control over DC golf courses in possible takeover bid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The Trump administration is terminating a nonprofit\u2019s management of three public Washington, DC, golf courses, in what may be the latest effort to put President Donald Trump\u2019s stamp on local institutions<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Department of the Interior said National Links Trust\u2019s lease was terminated because the group defaulted on several aspects of its 50-year lease with the National Park Service to manage the courses. The nonprofit denied the allegations, saying on Wednesday that it fundamentally disagreed with the administration\u2019s stance and is \u201cdevastated\u201d by the termination.\n <\/p>\n

\n In a statement announcing the termination, the organization said that while the courses will remain open, its long-term renovation projects will have to stop. It said it had invested $8.5 million in capital improvement projects at the courses since taking over the lease five years ago.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe will continue to seek a dialogue with the administration to offer our experience, institutional knowledge, and strong community relationships to explore shared goals for these historic public assets,\u201d National Links Trust said. \u201cWhile this termination is a major setback, we remain stubbornly hopeful that a path forward can be found that preserves affordable and accessible public golf in the nation\u2019s capital for generations to come.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The nonprofit manages courses in DC\u2019s Rock Creek Park; in the eastern part of the city just north of the under-demolition RFK Stadium; and on Hains Point, an island nestled on the Potomac River between DC and Virginia.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump suggested in an interview with the Wall Street Journal<\/a> earlier this month that he was contemplating redeveloping the courses, saying, \u201cIf we do them, we\u2019ll do it really beautifully.\u201d He also said if he took control, DC residents would pay a lower rate than other golfers, according to the Journal.\n <\/p>\n

\n The lease termination was first reported by The Washington Post<\/a>, which said that the Department of the Interior issued its termination notice on Tuesday.\n <\/p>\n

\n A White House spokesperson referred a request for comment to the Department of the Interior. That department said in a statement that the administration \u201cprides itself on getting the job done for the American people and partnering with others who share that same goal.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The Interior Department claimed that National Links Trust has failed to pay millions of dollars in rent owed under the contract, paying $0 in rent some years. It also accused the group of failing to produce a plan to remedy that default.\n <\/p>\n

\n A copy of the lease agreement obtained by CNN shows that National Links Trust was allowed to offset the cost of its rent with approved capital improvement projects. The $8.5 million in capital improvements the group says it has invested is more than what the Interior Department says it owes in rent.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe are fundamentally in disagreement with the administration\u2019s characterization of NLT as being in default under the lease,\u201d National Links Trust said in its statement. \u201cWe have always had a productive and cooperative working relationship with the National Park Service and have worked hand in hand on all aspects of our golf course operations and development projects.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A person familiar with the operations at National Links Trust said the group is reserving its rights to explore legal options.\n <\/p>\n

\n Since taking office a year ago, Trump has sought to put his mark on local institutions or organizations that have typically never fallen under the purview of the president. Days after taking office, Trump announced an aggressive plan <\/a>to purge the existing board of the Kennedy Center and put forward a new slate of loyalists.\n <\/p>\n

\n That new board recently voted to add Trump\u2019s name to the center \u2013 which Congress designated as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination. Trump\u2019s name was added to the building earlier this month, prompting a series of cancelations <\/a>from artists who were scheduled to perform at the center.\n <\/p>\n

\n The president has also moved to exert control over the Smithsonian Institution and its Washington museums, demolish the East Wing of the White House to build a new ballroom, and participate in efforts to bring the Washington Commanders football team back to the city at a newly planned stadium. The White House has suggested the new stadium should be named after Trump<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n East Potomac Golf Links on Hains Point has played a part in one renovation overseen by the president. CNN reported in October that trucks carrying debris from the demolition of the East Wing were dumping dirt on the course.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s unclear whether Trump has ever golfed at any of the courses managed by National Links Trust. He often travels to a golf course he owns in Virginia.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Trump administration is terminating a nonprofit\u2019s management of three public Washington, DC, golf courses, in what may…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-380782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}