A Trump-aligned group set up by the White House to apparently glorify the president is setting off alarm bells among watchdogs who worry it’s using the guise of America’s 250th birthday to carry out a cash grab.
Democrats and watchdog groups are questioning the growing role of the Trump-backed public-private partnership Freedom 250, which is organizing increasingly tacky, MAGA-esque events and promotions to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
This includes spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on customized “Freedom Trucks” that serve as traveling museums filled with educational content written by conservative educators, as well as a “Freedom Plane” to ferry the Declaration of Independence on a national tour. Freedom 250 is also the group behind the bizarre plan to hold an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White House to coincide with Trump’s 80th birthday.
Freedom 250, announced by Trump in December, has been working alongside America250, a bipartisan group created by Congress to organize and promote events to mark America’s birthday. America250 planned the military parade through the streets of Washington, D.C., last June to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army—an event that coincidentally coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday. Freedom 250 had pushed for Trump to be the center piece of that event, butting heads with America250, which wanted the military to be the focus, according to The Washington Post.
Both groups are expected to share roughly $150 million in federal funds appropriated by Congress for the celebrations, which are managed by the Interior Department. This has sparked concern among Democrats and government watchdogs that the Trump-aligned project may be “commingling” taxpayer funds to please the president with its events while offering political perks to wealthy donors.
A group of Democratic senators has written to the Interior Department demanding answers regarding the allocation of taxpayer funds to Freedom 250, which they accuse of operating “separately” from America250 in order to turn the celebrations into a pro-Trump affair.
“The Trump administration’s latest venture, Freedom 250, continues to raise serious and troubling questions about whether access to the president or official government events is for sale to the highest bidders,” California Sen. Adam Schiff, who led the letter, said in a statement to the Post.
“And if the administration is commingling taxpayer dollars with other funds in an unaccountable private entity run by the president’s allies, it is an open invitation for corruption. We need answers.”
Last month, Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization, also accused the Trump administration of “hijacking” the 250th anniversary celebration, citing a New York Times report alleging that Freedom 250 has been offering donors access to Trump for $1 million.
Freedom 250 denies the allegations.
“The focus of Freedom 250 is simple: to create meaningful, inclusive celebrations that honor our nation’s history and engage Americans in every community,” spokeswoman Rachel Reisner said in a statement to the Daily Beast. “In the three short months since our inception, we have illuminated the Washington Monument, launched Freedom Trucks bringing mobile museums and civics to students across the country, and deployed Freedom Planes to bring our nation’s founding documents to local communities.”
Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, said turning the 250th anniversary of America into a deeply political occasion is the “one thing our taxpayer funds should not be used for.”
“One of the things [the founders] were most afraid of is faction and political parties destroying our democracy,” Painter told the Post. “The celebrations here shouldn’t be owned by one political party or another.”
A spokesperson for the Interior Department told the Daily Beast it “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."
The Daily Beast has contacted Freedom 250 for comment.
