Donald Trump targets Nancy Pelosi's properties, affects her ‘legislative legacy’ in San Francisco, ‘Will save money…’
US President Trump aims to reduce the federal agency managing San Francisco's Presidio, a key park linked to Nancy Pelosi. The White House criticises the Presidio Trust, planning to sell properties for savings, while local officials express concern over potential federal funding cuts.
US President Donald Trump is aiming to scale back the federal agency responsible for managing the Presidio, a cherished park in San Francisco that is also a key part of Representative Nancy Pelosi’s legislative legacy, as reported by Bloomberg. Trump directed the Presidio Trust, which oversees the expansive green space featuring restored military barracks with views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
What did the White House say?
The White House called the Presidio Trust a “Nancy Pelosi pet project” and took aim at the trust’s board of directors, who include Democratic donors.
The White House has stated that it plans to save money by selling properties managed by the Presidio Trust and then leasing them back as office space for federal workers.
As reported by Bloomberg, the Presidio Trust is chaired by Mark Buell, a Democratic megadonor who previously served as the finance chair for some of former Vice President Kamala Harris’s early campaigns. Vice Chair Nicola Miner had hosted a March 2024 fundraiser for Harris at her Pacific Heights home, while board member Chuck Collins, a longtime friend of Harris, attended Howard University on election night in November when Harris lost to Trump.
“The Presidio Trust is statutory, and it has been protected from assaults over time by its statutory strength,” Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for decades, said in a statement, as reported by Bloomberg. “We will be carefully reviewing the language of the president’s executive order and its purpose.”
The Presidio Trust is primarily self-funded through leasing the buildings it has renovated. However, Representative Pelosi successfully secured $200 million from former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to address deferred maintenance and climate resilience projects.
In response to Trump’s order, the Presidio Trust stated that it would comply, submitting a report on its activities to the Office of Management and Budget within two weeks. Despite this, the Trust expressed confidence that its activities are all aligned with statutory requirements, Bloomberg reported.
Still Trump’s attack on an iconic San Francisco park is worrying local officials of further attempts by the president to strip the city of federal funding.
“The Presidio is a crown jewel of San Francisco and a national model for how public land can serve the public,” San Francisco’s new mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement. “We stand ready to support Speaker Pelosi and our federal partners.”
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
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