👋🏼 It's Cuneyt, back with Town Talker — my column on money and power.

Last fall, after trucks carrying dirt from President Trump's East Wing demolition began unloading at East Potomac Park, the golf course's management took a big swing of its own.

What I'm hearing: The National Links Trust retained Williams & Connolly to help fend off a Trump takeover of Washington's historic public golf courses, sources familiar with the matter (who weren't authorized to speak on the record) tell Axios.

🥊 Between the lines: Williams & Connolly is a storied D.C. firm that stood up to Trump's campaign against Big Law last year. Now it's being tapped to defend a hometown group as Trump involves himself more and more in D.C. life.

• "No decision has been made whether to litigate," says Jeff Arnold, an NLT spokesman, declining to comment on the W&C hiring, "but we are leaving all options open."

State of play: The president's ahead.

Catch up quick: Trump wants to bring a big pro event like a Ryder Cup to Washington. The federal government happens to own East Potomac, as well as the Rock Creek Park and Langston courses.

• The feds claimed NLT wasn't renovating them fast enough, despite it tapping top architects and toiling through project approvals. About a week after soil started piling up at East Potomac, the Interior Department told NLT it had defaulted on its lease.
• And then on Dec. 30, it canceled it altogether.

⛳️ "If we do them, we'll do it really beautifully," Trump told the Wall Street Journal about his vision for overhauling the courses.

• Sources told the newspaper Trump wants golf course architect Tom Fazio to redesign East Potomac, with a potential new name: "Washington National Golf Course."

Friction point: The National Links Trust is run by locals whose mission is to run courses that are as enticing to seasoned golfers as kids wanting to learn.

• Many locals hope the feds will more quickly improve sites, but also worry that a Trump-grade, upscale reno would defeat the purpose of affordable municipal golf courses.

🪚 The other side: The NLT disagrees that it violated its lease, and says it's open to working with Trump, hoping he can cut red tape and lean on their local expertise.

• The East Potomac course needs a $400 million seawall, NLT co-founder Mike McCartin said on a recent podcast.

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The developer of the former Key Bridge Marriott site has released plans to reimagine the area.

• The future of the prime piece of land — by the Key Bridge in Rosslyn, overlooking the Potomac — has been a local point of chatter since Marriott vacated the building several years ago.
• It was demolished last year, after a fire and trespassing incidents.

State of play: The plan is to develop the 5.5-acre site into a community called "Potomac Overlook" that includes five buildings with 1,775 residential units and a 200-room hotel, per a release shared with Axios.

• Plus: public green space developed along the Potomac, with seating, art, and bike and walking paths connecting to Gateway Park and the Custis Trail.

Timeline is TBD — Quadrangle Development Corporation, the group leading the project, filed a zoning application with Arlington County last month.

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🚗 No more D.C. traffic cameras — if the Trump administration gets a bill through Congress. The Transportation Department wants to eliminate hundreds of cameras, arguing they're "being used to generate revenue, not enhance safety," per Politico.

• Mayor Bowser tells Axios the move would endanger residents and blow a $1 billion hole in the city's budget, meaning cuts to everyday services. She calls on federal partners to "stand with us in prioritizing safety and respecting the District's ability to govern our own streets."
• Traffic fatalities fell 52% last year vs. 2024, per city data, with the lowest fatalities since 2014.
• DDOT reps tell Axios that 546 cameras are operating in D.C. There are no plans to add more this year.

🚪Several DMV restaurants are taking a post-holiday pause or temporarily closing for refreshes, including U Street's El Rey, both Yellow Cafe locations, Georgetown's Green Almond Pantry, 14th Street's Bar Japonais and Old Ebbitt Grill (reopening Saturday).

🎶 This week's 2026 Go Go Awards honored 50 years of the genre with performances by legendary musicians like Kurtis Blow and Doug E. Fresh, plus a lifetime achievement award for Mayor Bowser, who promised to "invest in go go" in her final budget. (WTOP)

D.C.'s child vaccination rate doesn't meet the herd immunity threshold, per new data analyzed by the Washington Post.

The big picture: Vaxx rates for school-age children have plunged in hundreds of counties nationwide as chaos reigns over vaccination schedules, setting the stage for a potentially grim 2026.

By the numbers: D.C.'s vaccination rate for kindergarteners sits at 92.7%.

• The only other DMV jurisdiction to fall below the 95% herd immunity threshold is Alexandria City (88.3%).

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Today in major cuteness news: There are two new baby sloth bear cubs in town.

Why it matters: The National Zoo is one of only 15 accredited locations that houses sloth bears, which are vulnerable to extinction.

• And this marks the first time the zoo has welcomed lil' sloth bear bundles of joy since 2014.

State of play: The fuzzy little nuggets were born last month to mama Molly.

• They'll remain off-view in their Asia Trail den until the spring.

Yes, but: Paging, Maury — we're not quite sure who fathered the cubs, but it's a toss-up between two sloth bear daddies named Niko and Deemak.

• In fact, it's possible the babies have two separate fathers despite being from the same litter, thanks to something Mimi had to Google called "superfecundation."
• Drama in bear-a-dise!

💭 Mimi's thought bubble: If the zoo needs someone to moderate the reality TV sit-down between Molly, Niko and Deemak, I'm more than ready to be the Andy Cohen in that situation.