The Interior Department is seeking $10 million in additional funding from Congress for previously held events hosted by Freedom 250, Sen. Jeff Merkley revealed in a letter sent to Secretary Doug Burgum Wednesday.
In the letter, Merkley (D-Oregon) said the Interior Department is seeking the money to reimburse the National Park Service for its work during the Rededicate 250 prayer event, the Great American State Fair, and the July 4th Salute to America event. All were hosted by Freedom 250, the public-private partnership founded by the Trump administration to plan events in celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The task force effectively sidelined America 250, the bipartisan, congressionally mandated organization formed for the same purpose.
Merkley, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Interior Department, asked Burgum to respond to the letter by Aug. 7 with a full accounting of how NPS has spent the $150 million provided in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” for semiquincentennial events and activities.
“It is unacceptable to ask the American people to bail out Freedom 250. Congress already appropriated $150 million—without bipartisan input—with the administration promising that private donors would help finance the rest. If the administration designated Freedom 250 as the responsible entity for these events, Freedom 250—not taxpayers—should be paying the remaining costs,” Merkley wrote.
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He said that Interior Department staff also held a closed-door briefing with senators that failed to elicit answers to his questions about where, exactly, the additional money would go.
“Our understanding from the administration was that taxpayer funds would contribute $150 million and private donations would contribute the balance of the funding,” Merkley wrote. “Given that understanding, what has gone wrong that has led to this additional request for taxpayer funds?”
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NOTUS, but told The Washington Post on Wednesday that the extra funding was needed to help address security needs, citing recent threats at the White House correspondents’ dinner and the UFC event held on the White House lawn.
“Given the elevated security threats against high-profile events in Washington, D.C. … an elevated security posture was needed to ensure the safety of the public at these events. This funding would help address the expenditures associated with the elevated security posture,” a spokesperson for the department said.
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