Trump-Linked Funding Diversions Within the National Park Service

Internal National Park Service (NPS) documents, reported by journalist Scott MacFarlane, show that $323 million has been rerouted this year to projects on the White House grounds—a rise of roughly 5,000 % from the amount spent in 2024. The same records indicate an allocation of nearly $100 million for work on the Washington National Mall, representing a ten-fold increase over two years earlier. At the same time, the documents reveal “multimillion-dollar reductions” in funding for flagship parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. In total, spending on the White House and Mall projects now exceeds the combined expenditures of nine of the nation’s largest parks.

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• $323 million diverted to White House projects (?5,000 % increase).

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• ~$100 million earmarked for National Mall projects (?10× increase).

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• Multimillion-dollar cuts to Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon.

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• Combined White House/Mall spending surpasses that of nine largest parks.

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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused the president of “raiding wildfire-prevention funding” to pay for the same projects, noting the impact on his fire-stricken state.

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Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee posted a social-media query asking whether Americans would rather preserve their nearest national park or fund “another monument to Trump.”

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Fred Wellman, a Democratic candidate for the U.S.

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The reallocation of billions of dollars from conservation and wildfire-prevention programs to high-profile construction projects raises concerns about the long-term stewardship of public lands, the adequacy of resources for park maintenance, and the transparency of federal budgeting decisions.

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• “This is theft on a grand scale,” — Fred Wellman, a Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives in Missouri

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