The Trump administration is asking Congress for an additional $10 million to cover costs related to Freedom 250 events recently held on the National Mall, including a prayer event, a fair and a fireworks show.
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Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Mall, said an earlier request from the administration was presented to Congress last week as part of a broader request for short-term funding across the government. That request, which asked for an unspecified amount of funding “to recoup costs associated with support of events celebrating America’s Semiquincentennial,” prompted questions about why the additional funds were needed, Merkley said.
In a briefing with Merkley’s office, Interior Department staff said that the money was needed to cover routine National Park Service costs incurred during the Rededicate 250 prayer event, the Great American State Fair, and the July Fourth Salute to America, according to Merkley.
Those events were organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership launched by the White House in December to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary. The group — which has partly supplanted a bipartisan group created by Congress a decade ago to help coordinate anniversary events — has organized initiatives and projects shaped by President Donald Trump, such as the July Fourth fireworks show that Trump pledged would be the largest in history. The Great American State Fair, a 16-day event extolled by the president, was beset by poor weather and saw periods of strikingly low attendance.
Asked about the funding request, the Interior Department told The Washington Post on Wednesday that the extra funding was needed to help address security needs, citing recent threats against high-profile events such as the UFC event held outside the White House and the attempted shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner.
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“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,” the department wrote in an email.
Merkley on Tuesday wrote to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, asking how past funds set aside for Freedom 250 had been spent, in a letter shared with The Post. The One Big Beautiful Bill, which Republicans passed last summer without Democratic votes, set aside $150 million for the Interior Department for events and activities related to the semiquincentennial.
Much of that funding has been redirected to Freedom 250, which has also solicited donors and received financial support from major corporations.
“It is unacceptable to ask the American people to bail out Freedom 250,” Merkley wrote, asking for more details on why the administration was requesting the funds and how past money had been spent. “Congress already appropriated $150 million — without bipartisan input — with the administration promising that private donors would help finance the rest.”
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