Congressional report alleges Trump used semiquincentennial celebrations for partisan purposes
A House interim report claims the White House directed a nonprofit linked to the National Park Foundation to turn the United States’ 250th-anniversary events into a vehicle for political allies and data collection, prompting criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
A congressional interim report released Tuesday says the administration leveraged the National Park Foundation (NPF) to shift the planning of the United States’ 250th-anniversary celebrations toward partisan objectives. The report, titled “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday,” alleges that a shadow entity called Freedom 250 was created to control the NPF board, install campaign operatives and use the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status to bypass standard transparency rules.
The report contends that the effort was intended to benefit political allies, collect voter data and promote a Christian-nationalist agenda. It notes that the America250 Foundation, a nonprofit established by Congress in 2016 to oversee the semiquincentennial on a nonpartisan basis, faced pressure from the White House to adopt a more campaign-style approach.
"I can’t, in my time here in Congress, remember anything even remotely like this: watching this trusted, venerable charity organisation, the National Parks Foundation, literally be hijacked for a craven political agenda that tries to steal the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and turn it into something that’s all about Trump, advancing this very divisive agenda and even enriching Trump and those around him," said Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.
The report’s findings come amid other developments, including the acting attorney general’s statement on immigration enforcement, a federal judge’s injunction against a proposed USPS rule restricting mail-in voting, and the administration’s decision not to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement without further review.
