President Donald Trump is in the middle of another government takeover attempt that will leave the nation's capital marred by his whims, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
Trump seeks control of three public golf courses, breaking a 50-year lease between the National Park Service and the nonprofit National Links Trust. To do so, the government must identify violations, but the Interior Department’s Solicitor’s Office skipped that step when issuing a notice of default on Oct. 29, 2025.
"The lack of public explanation and recent comments from President Donald Trump have fueled concern that the administration is attempting to take control of the East Potomac, Langston and Rock Creek courses regardless of contractual obligations," the Post reported.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), ranking member on the House Committee on Natural Resources, said there’s a process for such leases for good reason: “It’s a legitimate lease that is used to operate those courses owned by the Park Service. The lessee has been putting a lot of money and investments into it and relying on that, and the idea that Trump would just swoop in and take these things over is very disruptive and obviously terrible policy in addition to what it says about his priorities.”
“This is just the latest example of an administration that treats historically significant places as expendable when they stand in the way of vanity projects," lamented Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
Trump bulldozed the historic East Wing of the White House during the government shutdown and boasted about plans for a “Trump” arch near Arlington National Cemetery’s entrance.
The current lease lets the National Links Trust manage and refurbish the courses; it was approved during Trump’s first term.
In a statement last Friday, the Trust disputed any default, saying it “respectfully disagrees with the characterization.” The agreement requires the Park Service to identify violations and give at least 45 days to cure them, and the government cannot terminate as long as the Trust begins corrections and “thereafter diligently pursues such efforts.”
If the Park Service wants to claim "default," it must identify violations and give at least 45 days to address them, the agreement says, according to the Post.
A retired Park Service leader said rules are being ignored in the new administration: “The reality is nothing is normal right now. Contracts, agreements, leases —cliterally nothing is done the way we would have normally done it.”
“Normally, if we think someone is in default, there’s a long paper trail,” the Post reported, citing an individual with knowledge of federal leases. “For this to come out as short as it was, with no specifics and no cure, is really outside the norm."
Privately, administration officials fantasize about redeveloping the East Potomac course to host the Ryder Cup, with discussions about expanding toward the water — potentially eliminating parts of Ohio Drive SW, a route in the Marine Corps Marathon, one Post reporter said on X.
It would also shrink "bike paths, picnic areas, fishing spots, playground space and possibly even cherry blossom trees that stretch toward the southern tip of Hains Point."
The area is often less populated than the Tidal Basin when viewing the legendary cherry blossoms during the peak season. It was built when the Army Corps of Engineers developed the Tidal Basin. It has a rich history that includes a tea house created by the Girl Scouts of America and a gathering place in hot summers throughout the past 130 years.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calf.) fears Trump is “looking to acquire and develop new government golf courses for the President and his friends to play on."
"No wonder Trump thinks the affordability crisis is a hoax: he’s got all the taxpayer money to play with that he wants," Schiff, a frequent Trump target, wrote on social media.
