FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Toni Aguilar Rosenthal, aguilarrosenthal@therevolvingdoorproject.org
WASHINGTON — Today the Revolving Door Project released a report examining the National Park Service’s distribution of awards out of its Recreational Fee account so far in 2025-2026 as compared to 2023-2024.
Using publicly accessible databases, found a startling 1673.23 percent increase in spending out of the rec fee account to fund projects in D.C., while spending to the nation’s top-ten most visited fee-collecting National Parks dropped by 75.52 percent.
And, so far during 2025-2026 we found that D.C.-based contracting spending is far outpacing spending at the nation’s top 10-most visited fee-collecting parks AND our top 10-most visited non-fee collecting parks combined.
The report paints a concerning picture of Trump’s team diverting funds away from critical projects on public lands across the country and to the taxpayer-funded renovation of Trump’s own backyard.
Toni Aguilar Rosenthal, a Program Director with the Revolving Door Project, said “this review ultimately confirms what we already knew to be true: Donald Trump is stealing the rich legacy of our National Parks from the American public through a callous divestment and diversion campaign that treats our National Parks as a mere ‘balance sheet’ to be used, abused, and looted in favor of Trump’s D.C.-based vanity projects and so-called ‘beautification projects.’”
“It’s more than a little ironic that a president who claimed to be elected to give voice to the voiceless in left behind parts of America is taking cash from rural areas across the country and using it to decorate Washington, D.C. in his ostentatious self-image.” Aguilar Rosenthal continued.
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