WASHINGTON, D.C., June 1 — President Donald Trump on Saturday invoked powers of the 1976 National Emergencies Act, signing Executive Order 14091: Facilitating Presidential Fairway Access to “liberate America’s greens” and guarantee an unimpeded 18 holes at Mar-a-Lago this weekend. Legal historians note that Congress never envisioned the Act being used for leisure conveniences rather than wars, sanctions, or pandemics. The Washington Post

A déjà-vu declaration

The new order activates the same statute Trump tapped in 2019 to fund a southern-border wall after saying he “didn’t need to do this” but wanted to “do it much faster.” The Washington Post Critics contend the golf-centric decree stretches the law past recognition, diverting Coast Guard cutters and Army Corps bulldozers to “hazard removal” on the president’s preferred back nine.

Attorney General’s warning shot

Attorney General Pam Bondi — sworn in as the nation’s 87th top law-enforcement officer on Feb. 5, 2025 — pledged Monday to “defend this golf emergency in every courtroom from Sandtrap Springs to the Supreme Court.” Justice

“Question the president’s handicap, pace-of-play, or emergency powers and my office will see you on the first tee of litigation,” Bondi said, holding aloft what aides described as “pre-addressed injunctions to You, Probably.”

Watchdog groups note that Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and Trump impeachment lawyer, has previously drawn criticism from First-Amendment advocates over her aggressive stance toward protesters and press access. Reporters Committee

Capitol Hill & clubhouse reaction

• Administration voice (straight man).
  “The president faces chronic tee-box interference that threatens national morale,” deputy press secretary B. Birdie Sanders told reporters.

• Named critic (foil).
  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who once introduced a resolution to block Trump’s “fake national emergency,” called the new decree “constitutional vandalism disguised as country-club etiquette.” The Independent

• Outside expert.
  Georgetown law professor P. J. “Pars” McAvoy observed that emergency powers exist “for pandemics and invasions, not pace-of-play issues,” predicting swift court challenges.

The money angle

A 2019 Washington Post analysis estimated that Trump’s previous Mar-a-Lago visits had already cost taxpayers more than $64 million in travel and security. The Washington Post A newly leaked GAO memo warns that the golf-centric emergency could tack on another $12 million for temporary sand-trap surveillance drones and “hazard neutralization” by Army engineers.

Legal stakes & history

During his 2019 Rose Garden announcement, Trump conceded he “didn’t need” that emergency but wanted to “do it faster” — a quote courts later cited against him. CBS News Bondi’s threat to sue critics may further complicate matters; retaliatory lawsuits against dissenters could collide with free-speech protections, scholars say.

Color on the ground

At Mar-a-Lago, staff hurriedly replaced presidential-seal podiums with Club Car golf carts while Secret Service agents posted “EMERGENCY USE ONLY” signs on the drink coolers. One agent, speaking anonymously because he was “supposed to be raking,” called the mood “half FEMA drill, half PGA Pro-Am.”

Kicker

Asked whether the emergency would end after 18 holes, Trump replied, “Only if I shoot par. Otherwise we’re looking at an indefinite mulligan.”

This article is satire. All quotations not attributed to published sources are fictional, and no such executive order exists.