'Glaringly disconnected': Interior Secretary Doug Burgum grilled over proposed $1 billion national park budget cut

May 13-During a tense hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee on the Trump administration's fiscal year 2027 budget, Democratic lawmakers repeatedly grilled Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum for prioritizing costly beautification projects in Washington, D.C., while looking to slash the National Park Service budget by around $1 billion.

Lawmakers pointed to several high-profile projects championed by President Donald Trump, including a planned $400 million White House ballroom addition (and an additional $1 billion for related Secret Service security upgrades), a controversial $13 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and a proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

Democrats repeatedly cited a proposed $10 billion Presidential Capital Stewardship Program in the proposed budget for construction and beautification efforts in Washington, D.C., contrasting it with less than $3 billion proposed for deferred maintenance and repairs across national parks nationwide.

Washington Rep. Emily Randall pointed to $300 million in deferred maintenance projects at Olympic National Park, which welcomed nearly 3.6 million visitors in 2025.

"Peak hiking season is just around the corner, and our local partners are worried that they won't have the staff they need to keep trails open and keep hikers safe this summer," Randall said. "You're proposing that the vast majority of funding for park construction be spent in D.C. at the direction of President Trump, not in our communities. This is wrong. It's misguided."

Displaying a photo of a damaged bridge along an Olympic hiking trail next to an artificial intelligence-generated photo posted by Trump on Truth Social of him and several cabinet members swimming in an updated reflecting pool, Randall asked which project should be a high priority.

"My answer would be both," Burgum responded, adding that deferred maintenance problems exist "all over the country."

Recently, Trump posted an AI-generated image depicting former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, sitting in a filthy reflecting pool with the caption "Dumacrats Love Sewage."

Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter criticized plans for White House renovations and questioned Burgum about reports that taxpayers could ultimately shoulder large costs for construction of a new White House ballroom and related upgrades.

"If you put this $1 billion towards our national parks instead of Trump's ballroom, you could avoid that cut - that would benefit every single American," Dexter said.

Burgum disputed several Democratic characterizations of the projects, particularly claims surrounding work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, arguing that the pool has suffered from years of neglect.

"This thing has been broken and failing," Burgum said. "[It is leaking] 40,000 estimated gallons a day, millions in a year, and it needs to be fixed."

Burgum also pushed back on criticism of the project's planned blue coating, which Democrats repeatedly mocked during the hearing.

"There's been a lot of misunderstanding about the color," Burgum said. "The color American flag blue is meant to enhance the reflectivity. It's called the reflecting pool. It's not a look-to-the-bottom-and-see-how-deep-it-is pool. It's a reflecting pool."

He rejected multiple references to the projects as vanity efforts tied to Trump's personal legacy, pointing to the country's 250th anniversary celebrations as a reason for the budget items. He argued projects such as the White House ballroom would serve future administrations and compared the current renovations to major White House expansions and redesigns carried out under previous presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"I would think all of us would want to make sure that our capital is the best, most secure, most beautiful capital in the world," Burgum said.

Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California pressed Burgum over the proposed triumphal arch planned near Arlington National Cemetery, which would stand roughly 250 feet tall and include gilded eagles, lions and gold inscriptions reading "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice for All."

"Who is this arch for?" Huffman asked repeatedly.

"It's for the American people," Burgum said.

Throughout the hearing, Burgum defended the administration's overall parks strategy and argued that Democrats were overstating the scale of cuts to the Park Service. He said some reductions in staffing reflected accounting and organizational changes rather than outright elimination, including moving firefighters into a consolidated wildland firefighting force and centralizing human resources, communications and information technology staff.

Democrats, however, argued the practical effect would still mean fewer personnel and reduced services at parks already struggling with maintenance backlogs and staffing shortages.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 7:21 PM.