SAN FRANCISCO – President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order calling for the swift elimination of the Presidio Trust, the federal agency that political rival Nancy Pelosi helped establish in 1996 to oversee The Presidio of San Francisco.
The 1,500-acre park is jointly managed by the trust and the National Park Service.
The order also calls for the abolishment of the Inter-American Foundation, the United States African Development Foundation and the United States Institute of Peace.
The heads of each “unnecessary governmental entity” will have 14 days to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget “confirming compliance with this order and stating whether the governmental entity, or any components or functions thereof, are statutorily required and to what extent,” according to the order.
In a statement to the Bay Area News Group, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi said her office is “carefully reviewing the language of the President’s executive order and its purpose.”
“In 1996, the Presidio Trust Act was passed in a bipartisan way when Republicans held the majority in Congress and has retained bipartisan support ever since,” she said. “The Presidio Trust is statutory, and it has been protected from assaults over time by its statutory strength.”
A spokesperson for the Presidio Trust did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
State Sen. Scott Weiner vowed to fight the president’s plans to close the federal agency.
“Trump is determined to tear down everything good in this country, and this is the latest example,” Weiner said.
“The Presidio Trust is a national treasure – a self-sustaining trust that’s created a flourishing and vibrant Presidio,” he continued. “But Trump can’t tolerate success if it’s not about him or enriching him. So he’s trying to kill it off. We’re not going to go quietly. When it comes to the destruction Trump is inflicting, we will have the last word.”
According to the Presidio Trust’s website, to reduce the burden on American taxpayers, Congress required the federal agency to fund its own operations by rehabilitating and leasing buildings left by the Army. That goal was reportedly reached in 2005.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.