The bill for America's birthday celebrations is growing, and the Trump administration wants taxpayers to foot it.It is asking Congress for an additional $10 million in reimbursement for costs related to patriotic events on the National Mall, including the Great American State Fair and the July Fourth fireworks display.The revelations came from Sen.
Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the lead Democrat on the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.He wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday outlining his understanding of the facts and asking for more information."It is unacceptable to ask the American people to bail out Freedom 250," he wrote, referring to the group that President Trump created last year to oversee anniversary celebrations, which critics say he did to bypass a bipartisan group that already existed.Merkley said that as part of a broader funding request last week, the Office of Management and Budget asked Congress for $113 million total "to recoup costs associated with support of events celebrating America's Semiquincentennial."That raised questions immediately, as funding for the 250th anniversary has been a fraught topic for months.
Merkley said his office then held a meeting with Interior Department staff to clarify the request.Critics have long accused Freedom 250 of whitewashing American history and politicizing America's birthday celebrations, from the state fair with uneven state representation to a mostly conservative Christian prayer event on the National Mall in May.Democrats have already raised questions about the costs of those events and accused Freedom 250 of misleading donors and selling access to President Trump to fund them, which the group denies.Merkley said the Interior Department told his office that it specifically seeks $10 million to reimburse the National Park Service for costs incurred during the May prayer event, the two-week state fair and Trump's July Fourth speech and fireworks."According to yo...