Park funds were reportedly redirected to Trump’s vanity projects. 9 major parks now get less combined than the National Mall and White House grounds

Internal National Park Service records show a large shift in funding this year, moving money away from major national parks and toward projects tied to President Trump, according to Scott MacFarlane Reports. The records were obtained from multiple sources inside the U.S. Department of Interior, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

The records show more than $323 million has been made available this year for upgrades and projects on the White House grounds. That is close to a 5,000 percent jump from the $7.5 million spent on White House grounds projects in 2024. Nearly $100 million has also been made available for projects on the National Mall this year, more than ten times the $9 million provided in 2024.

At the same time, the records show cuts in the money set aside for dozens of other major U.S. parks this year, including multi-million dollar reductions at Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon.

Combined White House and Mall funding tops nine major park sites

According to the National Park Service records, this year’s combined funding for the White House grounds and National Mall totals $423 million. In 2024, under President Biden, the combined funding for those two sites was less than $20 million.

The records show this year’s $423 million allotment is larger than the combined funding for Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Golden Gate National Park, the Statue of Liberty complex, Mammoth Cave, Zion National Park, and Joshua Tree.

Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said the shift in funding is being used to support the president’s personal projects. “The National Park Service is being used as a piggy bank for Trump’s vanity projects,” Whitehouse said. 

He also said, “The National Parks Service and the Department of Interior are giving Trump all of the money that he wants.”

The records show a number of smaller projects at parks across the country that are pending, including tree care at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, structural repairs at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site in Colorado, an emergency wastewater treatment repair at Death Valley National Park, and roof replacements at Mission San Jose in Texas. 

The shift in funding could add to an existing $30 billion backlog of deferred maintenance at federal park facilities nationwide. A separate report has looked into how much of the White House spending falls on taxpayers, despite earlier assurances that the projects would not cost the public.

An employee who spoke on condition of anonymity 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.”

Records reviewed by Scott MacFarlane Reports also show the National Park Service lost nearly 2,000 employees between May 2025 and May 2026, due to attrition, staff reductions tied to the Department of Government Efficiency, and other cuts.

Some of the high-profile projects have run into problems. The Trump Administration issued a no-bid, expedited contract to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a project Trump wanted finished by July 4, 2026. 

In a court filing in late July, the Justice Department acknowledged that a “botched” and “rushed” job contributed to bubbling and disrepair in the renovation work, and noted a June internal memo that had warned of problems.

Charles Birnbaum, CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, said, “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.” He also said the National Park Service’s “mission to preserve and protect has been replaced with to praise and prostrate.”

The Washington Post has reported separate issues with the White House helipad project, saying Trump directed contractors to redo weeks of work, including taking apart a 100-foot-wide granite presidential seal, due to concerns about its appearance. 

The Post reported the project, which is being paid for by Lockheed Martin, is expected to be finished before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit in late September.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against Trump’s White House ballroom project, ordering construction on above-ground spaces to stop by August 21. Trump has responded to the court’s ruling against the ballroom project on his Truth Social platform. 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 records show some of the funding for Trump’s projects came from donations, while other funding came from recreation fees collected at parks nationwide. 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.” 

He also questioned the use of donated funds, saying, “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 figures in the internal spreadsheets or answer specific questions about the funding decisions.

In a statement, the spokesperson said the department is “looking at different funding mechanisms for deferred maintenance which include endowment funds and revenue brought in from the sale of park passes,” and said the agency has been working on maintenance projects nationwide in addition to preparing the capital for the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.