There are enormous canyons.
Geysers.
Majestic cliffs.
Waterfalls and wildlife.
Rainforests and reindeer.
But in America’s national parks under President Trump, the most dramatic sight might be the rapid shifting of taxpayer and donor money.
Internal park service records obtained by Scott MacFarlane Reports reveal a controversial and overwhelming re-routing of money to Trump vanity projects.
The topline dollar figures are astounding, according to multiple sources inside the US Department of Interior, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to news media.
The records show more than $323 million have been made available for upgrades and projects on the White House grounds this year.
That’s a dramatic, nearly 5000 percent increase from the $7.5 million spent on White House grounds projects in 2024.
On the National Mall in Washington, nearly $100 million was made available for projects this year. That’s more than ten times larger than the $9 million provided for the Mall in 2024.
The internal park service records show declines in the money allotted to – or projected for use at - dozens of other major U.S. parks this year. There were multi-million dollar reductions in funds for Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks, which are some of the flagship attractions of America’s National Park Service.
“The National Park Service is being used as a piggy bank for Trump’s vanity projects,” said Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which advocates on behalf of current and former parks employees. Whitehouse said, “The National Parks Service and the Department of Interior are giving Trump all of the money that he wants.”
The shifting of funds slows - or delays - a range of projects big and small at National Park facilities, while expediting work on Trump’s pet projects in Washington, D.C.
“That’s costing the American people,” Whitehouse said, “That’s hurting the rest of our country.”
The shifting priorities could exacerbate a $30 billion backlog of deferred maintenance at federal park facilities nationwide.
Sec. Doug Burgum testimony at Senate
Trump’s focus on vanity projects also risks further demoralizing and depleting a federal parks workforce. Records reviewed by Scott MacFarlane Reports show the National Park Service has lost nearly 2,000 employees between May 2025 and May 2026, due to attrition, Trump’s DOGE reductions and other trims.
The aggressive and accelerating shifting of money has also triggered – or coincided with – some embarrassing mistakes and missteps on high-profile projects. The Trump Administration launched no-bid, expedited contracts for multi-million dollar projects prized by Trump in Washington, D.C., including a fledgling effort to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump’s White House ballroom project has resulted in unfortunate images of the White House grounds and a blistering appeals court ruling against the project.
The money also raises ethical questions. Not all of the Trump Administration’s parks projects are funded by taxpayer money. Tens of millions of dollars are coming from an opaque set of corporate donations, via corporations and officials who are potentially seeking to cozy up to Trump.
Starving Some of America’s Parks
The funding surge from America’s largest national parks to the Trump White House is massive, if not unprecedented.
Interior Department records show this year’s allotted funds for the White House grounds and National Mall projects total $423 million. In 2024, under President Biden, the combined funding for those two sites was less than $20 million.
According to the National Park Service records obtained by Scott MacFarlane Reports, the $423 million funding allotment for upgrades and projects at the White House and National Mall is larger than the combined funding this year for:
Yellowstone National Park
Yosemite
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Golden Gate National Park
The Statue of Liberty complex
Mammoth Cave
Zion National Park
Joshua Tree
Multiple National Park Service sources told Scott MacFarlane Reports, the Administration’s shift of priorities to White House grounds upgrades risks further delays on needed upgrades at parks nationwide.
The records show pending projects big and small, from coast-to-coast, including:
Tree care and maintenance at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Structural stabilizations at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site in Colorado
A wastewater treatment facility “emergency repair” at Death Valley National Park
Building roof replacements at Mission San Jose in Texas
Those projects lack the profile, prominence or glitz of Trump’s plans for a new White House ballroom or White House helipad, but the National Park Service has established a multi-year system for budgeting, planning and approving maintenance projects, to ensure infrastructure doesn’t fail - and that visitor experiences don’t suffer - at parks nationwide.
An employee who spoke with Scott MacFarlane Reports, under the condition of anonymity because of restrictions on speaking to the media, said the consequences are dire. The employee said, “This is part of a pattern of the National Park Service being forced to prioritize Trump’s vanity projects over our own needs. These projects aren’t being delayed because of some bureaucratic apparatus. They’re being delayed because the Trump Administration forced out the people who make them happen.”
Pet Project Problems
The rushed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool project, which Trump sought to complete by the July 4, 2026 celebration in D.C., has resulted in a comedy of errors and humiliation for the Administration. The sole-source contract ordered by the Trump Administration marked a significant departure from traditional National Park Service protocols.
In a staggering court filing in late July, the Justice Department acknowledged a “botched” and “rushed” job contributed to bubbling and disrepair of the multi-million dollar restoration work ordered by Trump.
Despite Trump’s ongoing claims of vandalism, the Justice Department said the evidence shows shoddy work was to blame. The agency noted a June internal memo which warned of brewing problems in the renovation.
“One man’s whims have usurped the nation’s legitimate priorities by creating risks at historically and culturally significant places that were not at risk and ignoring significant and irreplaceable places that are actually threatened,” said Charles Birnbaum, CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, a national, Washington, D.C.-based education and advocacy organization.
Birnbaum said, “In the process, the National Park Service has abdicated its responsibility; their mission to preserve and protect has been replaced with to praise and prostrate. NPS’ leaders have abased, humiliated, and embarrassed themselves and the nation—and these resources—are paying the price.”
The Washington Post has reported problems on another of the White House grounds project. The Post report said, “Trump has directed contractors to redo weeks of work on his planned White House helipad, frustrated with its appearance and questioning whether the slope of the White House lawn needs to be changed, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss his private comments.”
The report also said, “Contractors have taken apart their work, including a 100-foot-wide granite presidential seal that was beginning to take shape last week. Construction crews having been working around the clock on the project, which Trump hopes will wrap up before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits in late September, The Post reported last month. It was unclear how much additional cost or time the latest changes would add to the $5 million-plus project, which is being paid for by Lockheed Martin. It owns the company that manufactures the helicopters.”
Earlier this month, the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Trump’s White House ballroom project, ordering work to cease on the above-ground spaces by August 21. The judge’s emphasized how the Trump Administration appears to have circumvented Congress in authorizing and funding the project.
In the ruling, the judges wrote, “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence. The President has no—and claims no—constitutionally assigned authority over that property.”
The internal park service records show the multi-million dollar outlays for the Trump vanity projects. Some are listed as projects funded by “donations.” Others are listed as funded by re-routed “recreation fees” that are collected by parks nationwide.
Each of those funding sources is problematic, according to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Whitehouse, the group’s executive director, told Scott MacFarlane Reports that he’s troubled by the redirection of money from national parks nationwide into Trump’s pet projects. Whitehouse said, “Secretary Burgum is running the National Park Service as a personal trust or a personal valet service of the President. He’s viewing his role as pleasing the President and he’s using funds that were appropriated and collected by the National Park Service to do that.”
About the use of tens of millions of dollars of donated funds for the White House grounds, Whitehouse said, “What are these private funders getting in return? Why is the National Park Service being thrust into chaotic reorganizations and downsizing, while huge amounts of money are flowing into the coffers of Donald Trump from his donors?”
An Interior Department spokesperson did not dispute the expenses or the funding allotments shown in the internal National Park Service spreadsheets, nor did the spokesperson answer individualized questions about the funding decisions.
The spokesperson issued a statement, “The Department has many funding sources available to spend on deferred maintenance. Unlike Barack Obama who spent millions upon millions in taxpayer-funded Great Recession recovery aid that should have gone to struggling families, the Trump administration is looking at different funding mechanisms for deferred maintenance which include endowment funds and revenue brought in from the sale of park passes. The National Park Service has not only been focused on beautifying the district for the 250th celebrations in our nation’s capital but has also been working on many deferred maintenance projects throughout the country. Interior prioritizes GAOA LRF projects that address a high percentage of deferred maintenance by repairing, demolishing, or replacing critical assets.”
The needs and backlogs at federal parks nationwide are not disputed. The National Parks Conservation Association, which bills itself as the leading voice in safeguarding America’s parks, has advocated for more robust funding for repair needs. The group recently warned, “Tackling our national parks’ maintenance backlog has never been more urgent. As visitation continues to surge, so do repair needs. Trails, bridges, roads, campgrounds, visitor centers and the systems that keep parks running have long been falling into disrepair.”
The National Park Service employees who spoke with Scott MacFarlane Reports argue the problems are exacerbated by the the loss of contract specialists and other professionals who help launch and oversee the work. One employee said, “These projects aren’t just being delayed because of some bureaucratic apparatus, they’re being delayed because Secretary Burgun forced out the people who make them happen and because the people who are left (inside the agency) are being forced to prioritize Trump’s DC projects.”
Thank you for following this particular grift and corruption. I can certainly tell you which projects I prefer my tax dollars going to. And it is NOT more buttugly dictator monuments.
I am beyond angry anf heart broken at what he is doing to our national parks and lands....along our borders, decimating ancient trees, habitat, archaeological ruins and petroglyphs. It can NEVER be replaced. Every day, its something more. Heartbroken.