HUMAN EVENTS

Federal Hiring Freeze Closes Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration House

Philly spot where Founder wrote the Declaration of Independence.

The new federal hiring freeze enacted by President Trump on the National Park Service has resulted in the closure of seven major exhibits at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historic Park, including the site where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Other attractions, like Independence Hall and the home of the Liberty Bell, have remained open, but there are no longer working bathrooms because no new staff can be hired to clean them. “I’ve been here 17 years,” said David Fitzpatrick, the president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2058, “and I can’t recall anything like this before.”