The Trump Administration sent a formal notice of termination to National Links Trust (NLT), ending its 50-year agreement to renovate and operate the courses, and the organization has reacted
U.S. President Donald Trump could soon be dealt a blow to his hopes of taking over three of Washington’s public golf courses
U.S. President Donald Trump has suffered a setback in his bid to take over and renovate three of Washington’s public-owned golf courses following reports that the National Links Trust (NLT) has hired a lobbying firm.
The 79-year-old’s desire to be more directly involved in the future of the historic courses led to his administration sending a formal notice of termination to the NLT regarding its lease on the East Potomac, Langston, and Rock Creek courses on December 30, ending its 50-year agreement to renovate and operate them.
The Trump administration argued that the nonprofit organization failed to pay rent and took too long to complete the renovations, but the NLT has disputed those claims and begun taking action to regain control of the trio of courses in the capital.
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This week, it emerged that the NLT had hired the firm Forbes Tate Partners days after the National Park Service’s decision regarding the lease, with FTP confirming the move in a disclosure form filed Tuesday with Congress.
It remains unclear what steps the NLT plans to take moving forward, as it has thus far given no indications. The organization has also retained the law firm Williams & Connolly, although it has yet to file any lawsuit.
The nonprofit’s main concern is that the federal takeover will jeopardize affordable access to D.C.’s courses, although it continues to make clear that it will do everything in its power to regain control of the public spaces.
East Potomac Park Golf Course, one of three properties President Trump is looking to overhaul(Image: Getty Images)
“We remain stubbornly hopeful that a path forward can be found that preserves affordable and accessible public golf in the nation’s capital for generations to come,” NTL said in a statement following the termination.
Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks recently sent the Trump administration a stern reminder of who the courses belong to, with several other Democratic senators also expressing their concern that the administration could have ended the lease illegally.
“The Trump administration seems to feel they have complete control of our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., when in reality, we — the Senators of its neighboring states — know D.C. belongs to the American people and great people of the District,” Alsobrooks said in a statement, per The Athletic.
She also noted that the administration’s decision to dump dirt from the White House East Wing project into East Potomac’s facilities went beyond what the president could do.
Trump has used the East Potomac Golf Course to dump dirt from the White House East Wing project, which involves the construction of a 22,000-square-foot, two-level ballroom(Image: Getty Images)
“The administration’s ousting of National Links Trust in addition to dumping their new ballroom construction debris on the East Potomac White Course is just further proof of this administration’s complete overreach,” Alsobrooks’s statement continued.
When the NLT was handed the default notice in late October, it did not list any violations or outline any path to address the situation. According to the WSJ, the default notice “did not specify reasons the group was in default or how it could remedy any concerns.”
NLT co-founders Will Smith and Mike McCartin also believe, based on what administration officials and others have told them, that their lease will be terminated because they did not meet certain stated goals by the specified dates. Should that be true, they claim that it is only because they are working “by the book.”