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See the full story · 2 sourcesDemocratic senator wants a ‘full accounting’ for Freedom 250’s spending after the administation’s latest request for a ‘bailout’
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Donald Trump’s administration is asking Congress for millions of dollars in public funds to cover costs stemming from the president’s Freedom 250 events on the National Mall this summer, including a Christian-focused prayer event, a fireworks show that started late and a sparsely attended state fair .
Last week, the administration asked for an unspecified amount of funding “to recoup costs associated with support of events celebrating America’s Semiquincentennial,” according to Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the National Mall.
That request prompted Merkley to ask what, exactly, the administration needed the money for.
A follow-up notice said the Department of Interior is seeking $10 million to reimburse the National Park Service for costs associated with the Rededicate 250 prayer event , the Great American State Fair, and the Salute to America fireworks show on the Fourth of July.
“It is unacceptable to ask the American people to bail out Freedom 250,” Merkley wrote to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday.
“Congress already appropriated $150 million— without bipartisan input — with the administration promising that private donors would help finance the rest,” he wrote. “If the administration designated Freedom 250 as the responsible entity for these events, Freedom 250 — not taxpayers — should be paying the remaining costs.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Interior told The Independent that the additional funding would help pay for an “elevated security posture” in the capital after April’s attack at the White House Correspondents Association dinner and an attempted terror attack at the UFC match on the White House lawn, as well as “ countless vandalism incidents .”
“This funding would help address the expenditures associated with the elevated security posture,” the spokesperson said.
Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act set aside $150 million for events related to the nation’s 250th anniversary, though a bulk of that funding was redirected to the competing White House-led, public-private Freedom 250 project , which also solicited money from private donors and received financial support from major corporations.
Merkley is now asking Burgum to provide his office with a list of donors, including “any withdrawn or canceled donations,” and for a “full accounting” for how the National Park Service spent the money.
Freedom 250 was already facing scrutiny from watchdog groups and members of Congress over the use of federal dollars for Trump-aligned events during the president’s chaotic preparations for the nation’s anniversary celebrations.
The Great American State Fair opened June 25 on the National Mall promising a 110-foot Ferris wheel, military flyovers, movie screenings, installations from all 50 states, and a scaled-down replica of Trump’s 250-foot Triumphal Arch, among other attractions.
Every artist pulled out of the fair’s concert series, except Vanilla Ice, whose performance was canceled hours before the show was set to start. The president exploded at aides over the cancellation fiasco and wanted heads to roll, though he later announced plans to headline the event himself.
The fair suffered poor attendance, closures and delays from extreme heat and thunderstorms , power outages and near-empty exhibits after some states decided not to participate altogether.
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