Our National Parks Aren’t Trump’s Piggy Bank For Vanity Projects

The Trump administration has built a money pipeline inside the National Park Service to fund his personal vanity projects in D.C. ahead of the needs of national parks across the country.

While our parks face more than $24 billion in deferred maintenance, Trump has ordered millions of dollars of your national park entrance fees redirected toward projects in Washington, D.C. At the same time, the administration is cutting the National Park Service’s capacity to care for public lands and keep the people who visit them safe.

The administration has redirected park resources toward Washington projects including gilded statues, ornamental fountains, and the rushed and increasingly costly renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. More than 1,500 National Park Service maintenance projects across more than 200 sites were deprioritized for White House-backed initiatives tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Add your name to urge Congress to ask why one president’s personal priorities should get special priority over the park entrance fees that should be supporting the national parks we enjoy all across the country.

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Stop the Trump administration from Siphoning National Park Service funds for Vanity Projects

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As your constituent, I urge you to stop the Trump administration from siphoning National Park Service resources away from national parks to fund vanity projects in and around Washington, D.C.

Our national parks face more than $24 billion in deferred maintenance, including urgent needs for roads, buildings, trails, visitor facilities, and other crucial infrastructure. At the same time, the National Park Service has lost significant staff capacity to care for these places.

Yet the Trump administration has created a special pipeline for White House-backed vanity projects in D.C.

Millions of dollars in National Park Service entrance fees have been redirected toward D.C. projects, while more than 1,500 maintenance projects across more than 200 park sites were deprioritized in favor of White House initiatives. Now the administration is moving to remake East Potomac Park at Hains Point around President Trump's vision for a championship golf course, with trees already being cut down. The project threatens public recreation and some of Washington's historic cherry trees.

The issue is not whether Washington's public spaces need care. It is why one president's personal priorities are receiving immediate money, staff, and expedited attention while already-needed work at national parks across the country is forced to wait. Park entrance fees should improve the places visitors paid to enter, not become a flexible account for a presidential wish list.

I urge you to:
   - Stop the diversion of National Park Service entrance-fee revenue and other park resources to unnecessary presidential vanity projects.
   - Demand a full accounting of every park dollar, staff hour, and federal contract used for White House-backed projects, including what work at national parks has been delayed or canceled as a result.
   - Exercise congressional oversight to ensure that major changes to National Park Service lands comply with applicable environmental, historic-preservation, public-review, and congressional requirements.
   - Prioritize funding for the National Park Service's urgent maintenance, staffing, conservation, and visitor needs.

Our national parks belong to all Americans—not to any one president. Congress should ensure that the National Park Service's limited resources are used to protect and care for America's parks, not to advance a president's personal wish list.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

As your constituent, I urge you to stop the Trump administration from siphoning National Park Service resources away from national parks to fund vanity projects in and around Washington, D.C. Our national parks face more than $24 billion in deferred maintenance, including urgent needs for roads, buildings, trails, visitor facilities, and other crucial infrastructure. At the same time, the National Park Service has lost significant staff capacity to care for these places. Yet the Trump administration has created a special pipeline for White House-backed vanity projects in D.C. Millions of dollars in National Park Service entrance fees have been redirected toward D.C. projects, while more than 1,500 maintenance projects across more than 200 park sites were deprioritized in favor of White House initiatives. Now the administration is moving to remake East Potomac Park at Hains Point around President Trump's vision for a championship golf course, with trees already being cut down. The project threatens public recreation and some of Washington's historic cherry trees. The issue is not whether Washington's public spaces need care. It is why one president's personal priorities are receiving immediate money, staff, and expedited attention while already-needed work at national parks across the country is forced to wait. Park entrance fees should improve the places visitors paid to enter, not become a flexible account for a presidential wish list. I urge you to: - Stop the diversion of National Park Service entrance-fee revenue and other park resources to unnecessary presidential vanity projects. - Demand a full accounting of every park dollar, staff hour, and federal contract used for White House-backed projects, including what work at national parks has been delayed or canceled as a result. - Exercise congressional oversight to ensure that major changes to National Park Service lands comply with applicable environmental, historic-preservation, public-review, and congressional requirements. - Prioritize funding for the National Park Service's urgent maintenance, staffing, conservation, and visitor needs. Our national parks belong to all Americans—not to any one president. Congress should ensure that the National Park Service's limited resources are used to protect and care for America's parks, not to advance a president's personal wish list. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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This well-used picnic area at Hains Point would be destroyed if Trump's golf course plans go forward | Photo by National Park Service