National

Trump administration reaches deal with non-profit over DC golf courses

With the Washington Monument in the background, a golfer tees off at East Potomac Golf Course, whose future is in the courts as the Trump administration plans to take over operations and close it down to begin maintenance work, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
With the Washington Monument in the background, a golfer tees off at East Potomac Golf Course, whose future is in the courts as the Trump administration plans to take over operations and close it down to begin maintenance work, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Reuters

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration and a non-profit group that runs Washington, D.C.'s public golf courses reached a deal on Friday under which the organization will have a new long-term lease of two courses while federal officials will overhaul a third one.

The two sides released a joint statement on Friday. Here are some details:

• The National Links Trust non-profit will have a new long-term lease to operate and redevelop Langston Golf Course and Rock Creek Park Golf, the statement said.

• The statement added that the non-profit will continue to operate East Potomac Golf Links on an interim basis until the Interior Department's National Park Service starts what it calls a "historic restoration" of the waterfront course.

• All three public golf courses in the U.S. capital will remain open, the statement added.

• In December, the Trump administration ended National Links' previous deal to oversee D.C.'s public golf courses.

• Critics saw the cancellation as another step in Trump's push to remake the look of the nation's capital.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non and Kim Coghill)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 10:19 PM.

Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER