While President Donald Trump gilds horse statues and swaps out brick paver steps at the White House, dumpsters overflow and wildfires threaten remote parks across America, insiders told The Atlantic that the rot is only beginning.
The National Park Service now runs a three-tier funding scheme, according to documents and five current and former officials cited by The Atlantic's Michael Scherer. There's the untouchable "White House priorities" list, a "high priority" list, and a "low priority" pile where 1,573 projects languish. Many of those projects would have sailed through under past administrations, officials told the outlet.
One of the most disconcerting aspects is that the money for Trump's pet projects materializes in days, Scherer reported. For instance, he noted that $1.5 million materialized for Lafayette Park pavers within five days. It took just 12 days to find more than $5 million to gild equine statues along Memorial Bridge, according to the report.
At the same time, spending on parks outside Washington cratered by $854 million — a 68% plunge, according to budget documents Scherer obtained.
That is happening at a troubled time for the National Parks Service. Staff described the service as gutted by buyouts and cuts from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, leaving no one to sign contracts.
"This is going to get exponentially worse," one NPS employee told The Atlantic.