Members of Congress blasted the Trump administration for censoring American history on Tuesday while demanding answers about how Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is using the National Park Service to facilitate corruption through the president’s “Freedom 250” group.
The hearing in the House Natural Resources Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee was dominated by questions about the National Park Service’s removal of signs about slavery and Indigenous Americans, as well as questions following a New York Times report that Freedom 250 is offering donors access to President Donald Trump for $1 million and up.
Freedom 250 is part of the congressionally-chartered National Park Foundation. During the hearing, foundation president and CEO Jeff Reinbold said the foundation created Freedom 250 at the request of the Park Service, and that it will grant anonymity to donors who request it. Reinbold also said he would not provide Congress with any contracts signed by Freedom 250 donors.
Rep. Maxine Dexter of Oregon, the ranking member on the subcommittee, said Freedom 250’s secrecy was a problem. “Hiding the flow of money means we never get to know whether he is selling more than access to his donors,” she said.
Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, testified that park rangers are struggling with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order to sanitize history in the parks.
“We are citizens of a nation with a fascinating, diverse and complex history,” Spears said. “We need the leadership of the National Park Service, unimpaired, to help us enhance our understanding of our shared experiences when it comes to American history. We want the full story.”
Quick hits
Trump administration removes Pride flag from Stonewall National Monument; NYC to fly its own
Associated Press | New York Times | CNN | CBS News | Gothamist | Guardian | Washington Post | USA Today
Sweeping new rules restrict all aspects of national park communications
Interior dept. orders all non-English content removed from websites
Congress highlights history purge, corruption at Freedom 250 hearing
Associated Press | National Parks Traveler | E&E News
Major corporations spend millions to back Freedom 250 propaganda
Trump to repeal endangerment finding on Thursday
How the fracking boom put an oil field in the Guadalupe River floodplain
Opinion: Land seizure advocates are using wishful thinking
Quote of the day
Yes, we need to celebrate how far America has come, but how the hell do we know how far we’ve come if we erase the history? How is that patriotic?”
—Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon, House Natural Resources Committee
Picture This
Taking down a flag does not erase our history. But it does remind us why we cannot rely solely on governments to tell it.