Washington — The Trump administration has terminated the National Links Trust’s lease with the National Park Service to manage, operate and renovate Washington, D.C.’s three municipal golf courses, effectively taking back federal control of the courses.
National Links Trust, a nonprofit that says its aim is to make golf accessible to the public, said the Trump administration is asserting they are in default of the lease, a characterization with which the organization strongly disagrees. The lease was five years into its 50-year term covering the district’s Rock Creek, East Potomac and Langston courses. The National Park Service owns the land.
“We are fundamentally in disagreement with the administration’s characterization of NLT as being in default under the lease,” the organization said in a 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.”
National Links Trust said the courses will remain open for now, but long-term renovation projects will cease.
“At our in-progress Rock Creek Park rehabilitation project, construction has been stopped and our general contractor is in the process of demobilizing,” the organization said. “After five years spent navigating the complex Federal permitting processes, this development is extremely disappointing for all who have supported the project.”
President Trump, who spends many weekends golfing, has floated the possibility of redoing the district’s courses. “If we do them, we’ll do it really beautifully,” he said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 12.
CBS News does not have access to the lease or financial statements to verify the claims of the parties of the lease.
“The Trump administration prides itself on getting the job done for the American people and partnering with others who share that same goal,” said the Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service.