President Trump rides Freedom 250 train to Roosevelt Library in North Dakota
President Trump arrived in Medora, North Dakota, on a Freedom 250 train to speak at the newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
When President Donald Trump arrives in South Dakota’s Black Hills to speak on the eve of America’s 250th anniversary at Mount Rushmore, it will come at a time when the century-old monument is in dire need of maintenance.
The national landmark, which features the 60-foot-tall faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt carved into a granite mountain, will require $57 million in deferred maintenance costs, according to the National Park Service.
As of the end of fiscal year 2025, NPS has a balance of deferred maintenance projects totaling more than $24.2 billion for monuments and parks across the country. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is diverting tens of millions of dollars from fees paid to NPS to fund “President Trump’s vanity project” in Washington, House and Senate Democrats said, citing reports and information disclosed to Congress.
President Trump has worked on a variety of projects in Washington, D.C. and the White House, including restoring the Lafayette Square fountain, the East Wing ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool. Many of these projects have drawn criticism for a variety of reasons, including not seeking parliamentary approval or awarding contracts without bidding. An analysis of federal contract data by USA TODAY found that 20 days before President Trump first announced the renovations, the administration had already committed $8.5 million to renovate the pool, even though the president said it would cost $2 million.
Under the Federal Land and Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004, at least 80% of admission fees paid locally must be retained and used at national parks where fees are collected. The remaining 20% will be used to maintain parks that do not charge admission fees.
Additionally, Democratic lawmakers argue that proceeds from the sale of the digital America the Beautiful Pass appear to be funding some of these projects “without any guardrails or transparency.”
Unlike fees collected on-site, FLREA does not mandate a specific formula for the use of digitally collected revenue.
“Reliable sources with direct knowledge of these matters have reported to Congress that much, if not all, of the fee income from the online America the Beautiful Pass is being used to fund President Washington’s ‘beautification’ projects,” said a June 23 letter from California Sen. Adam Schiff and others to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “This means that this revenue is not being directed to national parks across the country.”
The letter asks a series of questions, including answers about what percentage of revenue from online sales goes toward these projects and how much of the NPS recreation fee account has gone toward D.C.-based projects since January 2025, when President Trump takes back the White House for a second term.
The Department of the Interior responded to USA TODAY’s questions about park admission fees being diverted to projects in Washington, D.C., saying there are many sources of funding that can be spent on deferred maintenance.
“Unlike Barack Obama, who spent millions and millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded Great Recession recovery aid that should have gone to struggling families, the Trump administration is considering alternative funding mechanisms for deferred maintenance, such as donations and revenue from park pass sales,” spokeswoman Katie Martin said.
He also noted that revenue from pass sales in the first three months of 2025 jumped to $14.3 million from $13.7 million in 2025.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is USA TODAY’s White House correspondent. You can follow her at X @SwapnaVenugopal..
