The Trump administration has fired the nonprofit that’s been renovating three historic golf courses in the nation’s capital, accusing the group of failing to pay rent and taking too long to complete projects.
The move, which follows President Donald Trump voicing interest in taking over the courses, has cast uncertainty over the future of the public golf facilities. The National Links Trust had planned a massive overhaul of the courses as part of a 50-year lease it signed with the National Park Service during the first Trump administration.
The sidelining of trust is also the latest effort by Trump, a former real estate developer, to leave a lasting mark on the nation’s capital, from the recent demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a new ballroom to adding his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, originally named as a memorial following Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.
In a Dec. 30 letter terminating the NLT lease, viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News, Interior Solicitor William Doffermyre said the trust is 3 ½ years behind schedule for its renovation of the Rock Creek Park Golf Course and 1 ½ years behind on completing renovations of Langston Golf Course and Driving Range, a historic facility for African American golfers in the city, citing construction schedules in the original lease.
