Trump Nominates Hospitality Executive to Lead National Park Service

Nomination of outsider with business ties to the agency raises concerns among conservationists

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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Former President Donald Trump has nominated Scott Socha, a hospitality executive whose company once sued to claim trademark rights to the name "Yosemite National Park", to lead the National Park Service. The nomination of an outsider with business ties to the agency he would oversee comes at a pivotal moment for the service, which has faced staffing cuts and efforts to erase historical events from NPS sites.

Why it matters

National parks have traditionally been overseen by people with experience in conservation and land stewardship, not business executives. Conservationists are concerned that Socha, who has spent the last 27 years working at a company that provides hospitality services in national parks, will prioritize profits over protection of public lands.

The details

Socha has overseen the development of enterprises in and near national parks since 2017. His nomination requires Senate confirmation. In 2016, Socha's company, Delaware North, lost a $2 billion bid to renew its contract to operate Yosemite's hotels and restaurants, and then sued, arguing that the company held intellectual property rights to various names used at the park worth more than $50 million.

  • In 2016, Delaware North lost a $2 billion bid to renew its contract to operate Yosemite's hotels and restaurants.
  • In 2019, the lawsuit over the intellectual property rights to Yosemite National Park names was settled.

The players

Scott Socha

A hospitality executive who has spent the last 27 years working at Buffalo-based Delaware North, a food and hotel management company that provides hospitality services in seven national parks and runs lodging operations in five national park gateway communities.

Delaware North

A food and hotel management company that provides hospitality services in seven national parks and runs lodging operations in five national park gateway communities.

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What they’re saying

“The private park concessionaire executive [Scott] Socha has zero experience in public service or conservation. Instead, he's made a career out of extracting maximum profit from our national parks, not protecting them, making it abundantly clear he'll be doing the bidding of special interests and corporate interests.”

— Jayson O'Neill, Spokesperson, Save our Parks

“Senators must approach this nomination with the utmost skepticism given Scott Socha's history and the current state of our national parks.”

— Aaron Weiss, Deputy Director, Center for Western Priorities

What’s next

Socha's nomination requires Senate confirmation, which will likely face scrutiny from conservation groups and lawmakers concerned about his business ties to the National Park Service.

The takeaway

The nomination of a hospitality executive with no conservation experience to lead the National Park Service raises concerns that profits may be prioritized over the protection of public lands, especially given the agency's recent challenges with staffing cuts and efforts to erase historical narratives.