The Trump administration is withholding tens of millions in taxpayer funds from the bipartisan group created to celebrate America’s 250th birthday while simultaneously directing money toward President Donald Trump’s favored projects for the anniversary.
Trump established a new organization called Freedom 250 in December to plan events for the birthday, even though Congress had already created a bipartisan commission called America250.
The bipartisan commission told Congress that it has a $100 million “funding shortfall,” according to a document obtained by NOTUS. America250 had received only $25 million of the $100 million it expected from the Trump administration as of April, and less than anticipated from other sources as well, according to that commission report.
Meanwhile, the Interior Department has given at least $68 million in taxpayer funds this year to the parent group of Freedom 250, Trump’s preferred organization, NOTUS found.
Trending
@notusreports America250 vs. Freedom 250: How did the Trump administration change the original plans to celebrate America’s 250th birthday? NOTUS’ Anna Kramer reports.
♬ original sound - NOTUS - The Washington Sun
Freedom 250 bills itself as nonpartisan, but is closely aligned with Trump. It was responsible for a massive prayer event on the National Mall in May featuring Vice President JD Vance, as well as the botched rollout of a series of concerts that were quickly canceled when most of the artists backed out because of the association with Trump. The organization is in charge of the “Great American State Fair” opening on the National Mall later this month, which Trump says he will headline with a rally and which will feature multiple days themed around “Make America Healthy Again.”
It’s not clear which events have been funded with the $68 million. Freedom 250 did not answer questions about where the money has gone.
“The Department of the Interior looks forward to celebrating Freedom 250 and saluting 250 years of American greatness alongside President Donald J. Trump - the most iconic and accomplished President in the history of our great nation,” an Interior spokesperson said in a statement to NOTUS.
America250 was established by Congress a decade ago as the official group responsible for planning for the semiquincentennial. In July last year, Congress appropriated $150 million for the 250th celebration, giving the Interior Department the power to distribute the money.
When Congress dedicated the money for the celebration, the only group responsible for planning events was America250 — Freedom 250 did not yet exist.
Trump created Freedom 250 several months later. He established it within the National Park Foundation, a nonprofit that has a special relationship with the Interior Department and takes donations from the private sector to support the National Park Service. This structure makes it difficult to know what Freedom 250 is spending money on and where the money is coming from.
A person familiar with the situation told NOTUS that Freedom 250 submits event plans and budgets to the National Park Foundation, which then works with the National Park Service to get approval for the event before funding is released. The Interior Department told NOTUS that the Park Service has significant oversight over the spending.
NOTUS identified that the Interior Department has sent taxpayer dollars to Freedom 250 by tracking grants to the National Park Foundation. As of April 29, Interior gave $68.3 million in grants to the foundation for “A250 events” and “significant events to commemorate the nation’s semiquincentennial.”
In total, the National Park Foundation — and by proxy Freedom 250 — have received nearly $80 million in federal government grants related to the 250th celebration. Before the creation of Freedom 250, the National Park Foundation had received less than $8 million in total grant funding from the federal government going back to 2009.
“The National Park Foundation is responsible for ensuring compliance with all terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, including fiscal oversight to ensure Freedom 250 LLC properly distributes and accounts for project funds,” the group wrote in an FAQ explaining the relationship.
That money is separate from the nearly $100 million that Interior and the National Park Service have spent on D.C. beautification projects, from gilding the four horse statues near the Lincoln Memorial to painting the Reflecting Pool blue to rehabilitating and repaving fountains and parks across the city.
America250, the commission created by Congress, asked lawmakers in April for $100 million more to address its “funding shortfall.”
“Our expectation from the outcome of the OBBBA passage was a dedicated $100 million out of the $150 million included in the legislation for the Semiquincentennial year celebrations and programming. In January 2026, we received $25 million of the $100 million expected. Since that time, we have not been made aware of additional funding tranches to meet this expectation,” the commission wrote in its most recent report.
Both America250 and the Trump-affiliated organization have been raising funds from the private sector to supplement taxpayer dollars. America250 acknowledged that its funding shortfall is partially related to “a competitive corporate sponsor environment.”
“The Commission is considering several legislative avenues to request additional funding from Congress as it also continues to work with the private sector for additional resources, with the understanding that there are many competing interests for other 250th activities,” the commission wrote in the report.
An America250 spokesperson told NOTUS on Monday, “We are grateful for all the support we’ve received from Congress, and from private organizations and individuals – and continue to work to raise the funds we need to complete our work on a celebration that is worthy of the anniversary it commemorates.”
“While it is a competitive landscape for nonprofit, cause-related, and sponsorship funding, America250 has only seen growing interest from private-sector sponsors as we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary. Interest in partnering with America250 has continued to increase in recent months,” the spokesperson added.
Author
