How Trump can shake up the Commanders' RFK Stadium deal
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President Trump watches over a crane at the White House. Photo: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Commanders have a new message for the D.C. Council: Get the RFK Stadium redevelopment approved or risk the Pandora's box of President Trump getting involved, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Trump can uniquely influence the NFL stadium project, thanks to the power of the White House and through federal design commissions.
- And he's suggested he's willing to step in. "If I can help [the team] out, I will," Trump told reporters on Sunday, noting the feds own the 190-acre land.
What I'm hearing: Commanders executives stepped up their lobbying on Tuesday, telling D.C. Council members that Trump's involvement could introduce volatility that the team and Mayor Muriel Bowser would like to avoid.
- "Given the president's recent comments, the team discussed the need to move quickly," said a source familiar with the conversations who wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
The risks are plenty. D.C. has a 99-year lease on the RFK Stadium land, but the federal government breaks leases all the time. Trump could muscle in a new agreement, cutting out the city.
- Trump's involvement could have strings attached, like design tweaks (hello, Trump Hotel?) that can delay the project.
Trump can also enlist another stadium booster, Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee. Comer is on the sidelines ready to go if the council doesn't act.
- Comer "strongly urged" D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson in a July 2 meeting to approve the "RFK Stadium deal before the Council adjourns for August recess," his office said in a statement. "Comer is committed to working with local leaders" on the deal "and secure its approval as quickly as possible," it added.
- Mendelson has said a July 15 deadline requested by the team and mayor won't be met. The council's timeline is more likely to stretch into September.
Zoom out: Trump has levers to pull even without getting directly involved.
- The president appoints members to both the Commission on Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which will advise on the design.
- See how the NCPC is handling the Capital One Arena overhaul: A 71-page report is thick with demands, like a "lighting plan" that's down to lumens and color temperature.
- Trump hasn't yet shaken up the commission's members, but that's likely coming (for context, former President Biden kicked off Trump's appointees soon after taking office).
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