Trump administration terminates lease for Washington’s public golf courses
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s campaign to remake the nation’s capital monuments in his image expanded into the golf realm this week with his administration’s termination of leases on Washington’s three public courses.
The move, first reported by The Washington Post, was confirmed to NBC News by two administration officials and the nonprofit that held the leases. The administration and the nonprofit, the National Links Trust, disagree over whether obligations to maintain and improve the three courses — Rock Creek, East Potomac and Langston — have been met.
“The Trump administration is proud to do the work for the American people and to partner with others who share the same goal,” an Interior Department spokesperson told NBC News.
The unilateral decision to end the 50-year lease, granted in 2020, comes at a time when Trump is seeking to leave his mark on various public facilities in the nation’s capital.
He has undertaken a massive project to demolish the East Wing of the White House and replace it with a ballroom, which he estimates will cost $400 million.
Earlier this year, the Trump-appointed board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts elected president president. And late last month, the board of trustees voted to rename its institution the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, a move that prompted some artists to cancel their planned engagements.
Trump, who is openly pushing to be named a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, also had his name added to the US Institute of Peace.
For a president who prides himself on his land development, golfing skills and aesthetic taste, Washington’s three public courses represent another set of canvases on which Trump could leave a more permanent mark in the nation’s capital.
In a statement, the National Links Trust disputed the administration’s conclusion that it had breached its lease by failing to pay rent or come up with a credible plan to make course improvements.
“We fundamentally disagree with the administration’s characterization of NLT as being in default under the terms of the lease,” the trust said in its statement. “We 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.”
Specifically, the trust said, it invested more than $8.5 million in capital improvement projects, helping to double revenue and the number of rounds played. Although the future of the courses is uncertain, the trust will continue discussions with administration and keep duffers on the fairways.
“We have agreed to remain in place for the time being as operators so that DC courses can remain open,” it said in its statement. “This will allow uninterrupted access to golf in the District and our hundreds of dedicated employees to remain in place.”
