Republican lawmakers introduce buildings to carve Trump into Mount Rushmore
Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has introduced a law that would open up President Trump to Mount Rushmore.
Straight Arrow News
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has introduced a bill that will add Donald Trump’s face to Mount Rushmore.
- The bill is stagnant in the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- Mount Rushmore sculptors said it would be difficult to add another face due to limited space.
Republicans have moved to honor President Donald Trump in many bills, including one for carving his face next to others on Mount Rushmore.
The South Dakota National Memorial shows the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. According to the National Park Service, the sculpture began in 1927 and was completed in 1941.
The bill introduced in January to add Trump’s face to the memorial did not elaborate on how he fits (it wasn’t going ahead in Congress). However, the original sculptor said he suspected someone else could fit into the memorial, as reported by NBC News in the past.
So, how else will Trump be commemorated if not for Mount Rushmore? Here’s what we know:
The building that places Trump on Mount Rushmore is stuck
R-Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduced a bill in January that proposed carving Trump on Mount Rushmore.
Luna’s bill announcement included a stone rendering of Trump’s figure next to Lincoln, not including details on the timing or funding of the project.
“President Trump’s bold leadership and unwavering dedication to American greatness solidified his position in history,” Luna said in a press release. “Mount Rushmore, a timeless symbol of freedom and strength in our country, deserves to reflect his towering legacy, a legacy that has been further cemented by the powerful start of his second term.”
The bill has not passed a House Committee on Natural Resources.
Mount Rushmore artist said there was no space for the fifth person
In a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, archived by the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University, Mount Rushmore sculptor Guzzon Borglum explained that “the stone restrictions are very serious,” so the fifth head was probably impossible.
The letter, entered in 1936, appears to respond to her proposal to include suffrage Susan B. Anthony in the monument. Borglum also explained that the monument was created after many discussions to represent a “short, clear statement.”
“If Mount Rushmore were simply a gallery of immortality, we would have chosen a mountain range that would have recognized twice as many as the greatest politics that would have been twice as much service than most of our official world,” the letter read.
Some bills honoring Trump did not accomplish that from Congress. This did that
- Washington DC Airport -Rep. Addison McDowell of R-North Carolina introduced a law in January to rename Washington Dulles International Airport to Donald J. Trump International Airport, but failed to commission earlier this year.
- Washington DC Train – In May, R-Florida Rep. Greg Stutube introduced the “Make Autorail Great Act,” designed to rename transports to the Washington metro area as “Washington metro area authorities) and metro trains as “Trump trains.” He was featured on the House Committee on Transport and Infrastructure.
- $100 invoice – In March, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced the Golden Age Act of 2025. The $100 bill currently features Benjamin Franklin. He was featured on the House Committee on Financial Services.
- $500 invoice – The 2024 bill called for a $500 bill to be printed on Trump’s face. (A $500 memo was last printed in 1945. It was discontinued due to lack of use.) It did not pass the Financial Services Commission.
- Trump Account – aPart of the Republican tax system passed in July, babies born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028, will receive a $1,000 donation to their savings accounts. The program, once known as the “MAGA Account,” was renamed the “Trump Account” during the legislative process.
Contributions: Frances Ca Chambers, Dan Morrison, Kathryn Palmer, Fernando Cervantes Jr., Moradley, Veronica Bravo, Jim Sergento, USA Today
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA Today Network. Contact her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and Tiktok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
