White House withdraws nomination of hospitality executive for National Park Service director

On Monday, the Trump administration withdrew its nomination of Scott Socha - an executive at hospitality concessionaire Delaware North - for director of the National Park Service.

The administration nominated Socha for the role in February, sparking outrage among conservationists and park enthusiasts who decried both his lack of experience in managing public land and his ties to the privatized park concessionaire industry. On Monday, the White House published a list of nominations and withdrawals to be sent to the Senate, which included the withdrawal of Socha's nomination for NPS director.

"We've said all along that Scott Socha was deeply unqualified to run the National Park Service," Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the conservation nonprofit Center for Western Priorities, said in a statement. "Our parks deserve far better than someone who spent his entire career trying to privatize them. President Trump should have no problem finding a qualified leader inside NPS... unless they've all taken Doug Burgum's latest buyout offer."

Socha has worked for Delaware North for nearly 30 years, and is currently the company's president. The concessionaire operates restaurants and hotels at parks, venues and airports across the U.S. and Australia, including several hotels outside of national parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone.

From 2016 to 2019, Delaware North was involved in a lengthy legal battle with the NPS over the trademark rights of various names within Yosemite. The lawsuit was eventually settled for $12 million, but not before the company attempted to trademark the name "Yosemite National Park."

"Industry goons like Scott Socha who want to sell off our public lands have no place running our crown jewel national parks," Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an emailed statement. "There's little reason to hope Trump's next nominee will be any better, but let's hope he's gotten the message that the American people want someone who serves our parks not the bottom line of corporate interests and elites."

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