Emergency response workers pulled from national parks for Trump’s ‘beautification’ of Washington, DC

With Donald Trump fixated on his makeover of Washington, DC , members of a specialized team that responds to wildfires, natural disasters and other emergencies in national parks have been sent to the capital to work on the president’s pet projects.

The members of the National Park Service’s “incident management team” have helped with projects ranging from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to fountain renovations and removing debris at the East Potomac golf course, according to two Park Service employees and internal documents.

They’ve also compiled highly detailed status reports for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ’s office. One longtime employee, who spoke with CNN on the condition of anonymity over fears of retaliation, said those kinds of “operational details” would normally be handled by lower-level managers, not political appointees like Burgum.

“It’s highly unusual,” the employee said. “Political folks have wanted to know even the tiniest details, and it’s always about schedule. Will it be on time?”

“This is not what a typical secretary of the Interior does,” another employee who recently left the department told CNN.

Burgum has become Trump’s go-to Cabinet secretary for his most highly visible projects and priorities in DC. In interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees at the Interior Department, they described Burgum as taking an unusual, hands-on role in advancing Trump’s effort to “beautify” DC in time for America’s 250th birthday and his culture war with the Smithsonian Institution.

The Interior secretary’s focus on Washington comes as the West confronts the most wildfires it has seen in a decade and a water crisis grips several drought-ravaged states. Traditionally, the Interior secretary’s main job is managing the nation’s 480 million acres of federal lands, including energy production and conservation.

A CNN review of just over 500 social media posts on Burgum’s official accounts between June and early August found that about 70% promoted America 250 events or the president’s construction and restoration projects. Only a couple of posts referenced the Colorado River – even as key reservoirs in the West hit record-low levels.

Burgum also took to the airwaves, talking on television and podcasts about Trump’s DC beautification efforts.

He amplified Trump blaming vandals for the deteriorating lining and algae blooms in the Reflecting Pool – even after DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped charges related to alleged vandalization of the landmark and attributed the bungled installation to bad weather and other problems.

Aaron Schwartz/Reuters

Since Trump tapped Burgum to oversee Interior, the former Republican governor of North Dakota has taken action on public lands by rolling back protections for endangered species and opening more public lands for increased drilling, logging and mining. And last week, Burgum’s Interior Department announced a short-term plan to manage the Colorado River.

But he’s also leveraged the fact that many DC sites Trump wants to renovate are on federal land to become intimately involved with those projects.

At the Smithsonian, a unique public-private trust, the department is taking advantage of the fact that the National Park Service maintains its sidewalks. That’s where the agency plans to install signs warning visitors about “inaccurate information” in exhibits that Trump says promote “woke” ideology.

Interior spokeswoman Katie Martin told CNN in an email that the department “had the honor of being part of this effort” to beautify Washington. She also noted the National Park Service has been working on “many deferred maintenance projects throughout the country” and said the previous secretary under former President Joe Biden “did nothing to revitalize the district and let it decline into an embarrassing state.”

Martin added: “Anyone critical of making our nation’s capital Safe and Beautiful should have their head checked.”

White House outgoing press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement to CNN, called Burgum one of the most “valuable members” of Trump’s Cabinet.

Burgum’s central role on DC projects is partly by Trump’s design, as the president has used the Interior Department to carry out his priorities through executive orders on making DC beautiful and taking “woke” ideology out of the Smithsonian .

“When I look at what he is spending his time on, it’s only the things that are important to the president,” said Laura Daniel Davis, who served as acting deputy secretary of the Interior Department under Biden. “That doesn’t equal the job he is supposed to be doing on behalf of the American public.”

Burgum’s backers say his priorities should be aligned with the president. Jarrod Agen, executive director of Trump’s newly established National Energy Dominance Council, which Burgum chairs, told CNN that the two have a “strong” relationship.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Agen also said the secretary is capable of managing multiple priorities and pointed to what he described as energy-sector successes, including “record oil and gas lease sales, and a streamlined and shortened permitting process.”

But critics say Burgum’s eagerness to please the president is also driven by his personality and his own political ambitions. Some pointed to reports that Burgum initially lobbied to be secretary of state in Trump’s second term.

“He didn’t really want this job, and he’s not that interested in it, and it shows. This was the consolation prize for Burgum,” said Aaron Weiss, executive director for the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation group.

“When the president calls him and wants him to spend all his time on the Reflecting Pool and literally gilding statues in gold, he’s happy to do it because he doesn’t really care about the rest,” Weiss said.

On the water crisis affecting seven states, some stakeholders have described Burgum’s engagement on the issue as “episodic” when they say the complexity of the situation demands sustained engagement. The Interior Department, which is already facing a legal challenge, is still working to determine water usage cuts for states in future years under a 10-year framework.

Colorado River water scarcity affects 40 million people. The river irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland and generates enough electricity to power around 700,000 homes.

As the river shrinks under the strain of overuse, drought and climate change, some stakeholders say the federal government should play a major role in brokering a solution and funding projects that could increase the western water supply, like desalination plants.

One high-level official involved in water negotiations for one of the Western states said Burgum has “hastily” convened a few meetings with governors from the states impacted, followed by “radio silence.”

“He spends a lot of time dealing with those issues in DC, but I think it would be a lot more effective if he dug in and stayed sustained on this issue,” the official said.

The Interior Department pushed back. Andrea Travnicek, the department’s assistant secretary for water and science, told CNN that Burgum has been “front and center” on this issue as the “first Interior Secretary to bring all 7 governors together for discussions on the Colorado River.”

“Every week he knows what is going on related to the Colorado River,” Travnicek added.

With the focus on DC, the administration is redirecting revenue from national park fees to projects in Washington.

And nearly 300 National Park Service staffers on the incident management team that responds to major events and disasters have been sent from parks as far away as California and Alaska to Washington for Trump’s “safe and beautiful” initiative, which also includes crimefighting efforts, according to internal department data reviewed by CNN.

The longtime Park Service employee described that level of support as “crazy abnormal,” considering only about 60 team members were brought in for DC’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival and 45 for this past weekend’s IndyCar race that capped a summer of America 250 celebrations.

While the rotations are voluntary, the employee noted the agency is already stretched thin by DOGE staffing cuts and a hiring freeze.

“It just shows how much DC operations are getting priority above all other park units and staff,” a second Park Service employee said.

According to internal communications reviewed by CNN, the department is requesting “continued support through September ” from the specialized Park Service team to “sustain the great work underway.” It’s unclear what they would be doing, but Trump has said he wants to start renovating a DC public golf course into a championship course next month.

When asked about incident management team members being dispatched to DC for beautification projects, Martin, the department spokeswoman, said this “wholistic approach” is a “common practice.”

At the Smithsonian, the Trump administration’s latest salvo – an executive order directing Burgum to install temporary exhibits or signage outside the National Museum of American History that “corrects inaccurate information presented in the museum” – has drawn bipartisan concern.

Tom Brenner/The Washington Post/Getty Images

In a letter to Burgum this month, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley defended the Smithsonian’s history of “sharing objective historical evidence through research and education, not political narratives.” They also asked about the cost of any new signage and whether Interior would determine what it says.

Several current and former Park Service employees told CNN they were troubled by what they view as an effort to pit two institutions that have long partnered against one another.

“The Smithsonian manages the artifacts, and the Park Service manages the places where that history occurred,” said a former Park Service employee who served in a leadership role. “To force the Park Service to place a derogatory sign outside the Smithsonian is to fracture the storytelling of American history.”

The Interior Department didn’t respond to questions about what any new signage would say and when it would be installed.

The effort also underscores the limits of Trump’s authority over the Smithsonian. After a monthslong review of exhibits; a lengthy report detailing the administration’s findings; congressional hearings led by Republican lawmakers; and public criticism from the president himself, the exhibits that drew scrutiny appear largely unchanged.

The Smithsonian is also trying to preserve its nonpartisan posture, even as some Democratic lawmakers are eager to defend it. “They want to fight for their own independence,” a senior congressional aide with knowledge of the matter said. “They don’t want to be partisan.”

Meanwhile, Burgum continues to tout the work done in DC. In a July interview on the Katie Miller podcast, Burgum pointed to the restoration of the iconic Meridian Hill Park fountain.

“When that opened up — longest cascading fountain in North America — it hadn’t been working for who knows how long,” he said. “Residents of the area that lived there for 20 years didn’t even know it was a fountain.”

CNN’s Akansha Singh, Logan Schiciano, Bruna Horvath, Rashell Marthans and Arpita Dasika contributed to this story.

由于唐纳德·特朗普一心想要改造华盛顿特区，一支专门应对国家公园野火、自然灾害和其他紧急情况的团队已被派往首都，从事总统的心头好项目。

据两名国家公园管理局员工和内部文件显示，国家公园管理局“事件管理团队”的成员曾参与过从林肯纪念堂倒影池到喷泉翻新，再到清除东波托马克高尔夫球场垃圾等各种项目。

他们还为内政部长道格·伯古姆的办公室编制了非常详细的情况报告。一位因担心遭到报复而要求匿名的资深员工告诉CNN，这类“运营细节”通常由级别较低的管理人员处理，而不是像伯古姆这样的政治任命官员。

“这非常不寻常，”这位员工说。“政界人士甚至连最细微的细节都想知道，而且他们总是关注时间安排。能按时完成吗？”

“这不是内政部长通常会做的事情，”一位最近离开该部门的员工告诉 CNN。

伯格姆已成为特朗普在华盛顿特区推进其最引人注目项目和优先事项的内阁部长首选。在对十几位现任和前任内政部雇员的采访中，他们表示，伯格姆在推进特朗普为迎接美国建国250周年而进行的“美化”华盛顿特区计划以及他与史密森学会之间的文化战争中，扮演了不同寻常的亲力亲为的角色。

内政部长将工作重心放在华盛顿之际，美国西部正面临十年来最严重的野火灾害，多个饱受干旱蹂躏的州也陷入了水资源危机。传统上，内政部长的主要职责是管理美国4.8亿英亩的联邦土地，包括能源生产和保护。

CNN对伯格姆总统官方社交媒体账号在6月至8月初发布的500多条帖子进行审查后发现，其中约70%的帖子宣传了“美国250周年”活动或总统的建设和修复项目。尽管西部一些重要水库的水位已降至历史最低点，但只有少数帖子提到了科罗拉多河。

伯格姆还通过电视和播客等媒体渠道，谈论了特朗普在华盛顿特区的“美化”努力。

他放大了特朗普的说法，指责破坏者造成了倒影池衬里破损和藻类滋生——即便华盛顿特区美国检察官珍妮·皮罗撤销了与涉嫌破坏该地标有关的指控，并将安装失败归咎于恶劣天气和其他问题。

Aaron Schwartz/路透社

自从特朗普任命伯格姆掌管内政部以来，这位北达科他州前共和党州长就对公共土地采取了一系列行动，包括削弱对濒危物种的保护，并开放更多公共土地用于钻探、伐木和采矿活动。上周，伯格姆领导的内政部宣布了一项科罗拉多河短期管理计划。

但他还利用了特朗普想要翻新的许多华盛顿特区地点都位于联邦土地上这一事实，从而深度参与到这些项目中。

史密森尼博物馆是一个独特的公私合营机构，该部门正利用国家公园管理局负责维护其人行道的优势，计划在人行道上安装告示牌，警告游客注意展览中的“不实信息”。特朗普称这些展览宣扬“觉醒”意识形态。

内政部发言人凯蒂·马丁在给CNN的电子邮件中表示，该部门“很荣幸能参与到美化华盛顿特区的这项工作中来”。她还指出，国家公园管理局一直在“全国各地开展许多积压的维护项目”，并表示，前总统乔·拜登时期的内政部长“对振兴华盛顿特区毫无作为，任由其衰落到令人尴尬的地步”。

马丁补充道：“任何批评我们国家首都安全美丽的人都应该去看医生。”

即将离任的白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特在给 CNN 的一份声明中称伯格姆是特朗普内阁中最“有价值的成员”之一。

伯格姆在华盛顿特区项目中扮演核心角色，部分原因是特朗普的安排，因为总统利用内政部通过行政命令来推行他的优先事项，包括美化华盛顿特区和将“觉醒”意识形态从史密森尼博物馆中清除出去。

“我观察他把时间花在了哪些事情上，发现他只关注那些对总统来说重要的事情，”曾在拜登政府担任内政部代理副部长的劳拉·丹尼尔·戴维斯说，“这与他应该代表美国公众所做的工作完全不符。”

伯格姆的支持者表示，他的工作重点应该与总统保持一致。特朗普新成立的国家能源主导委员会执行主任贾罗德·阿根（伯格姆担任该委员会主席）告诉CNN，两人关系“非常密切”。

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

阿根还表示，这位部长有能力管理多项优先事项，并指出他所说的能源领域取得的成功，包括“创纪录的石油和天然气租赁销售，以及简化和缩短的许可程序”。

但批评人士指出，伯格姆如此急于讨好总统，也源于他自身的个性和政治野心。有人指出，有报道称伯格姆最初曾游说，希望在特朗普的第二个任期内担任国务卿。

“他其实并不想要这份工作，对它也没什么兴趣，这一点显而易见。这对伯格姆来说只是个安慰奖，”西部优先中心（一个自然保护组织）的执行主任亚伦·韦斯说道。

“当总统打电话给他，希望他把所有时间都花在倒影池上，甚至给雕像镀金时，他很乐意这样做，因为他根本不在乎其他事情，”韦斯说。

针对影响七个州的用水危机，一些利益相关者认为伯格姆州长对该问题的参与是“零星的”，但他们也指出，情况的复杂性需要持续的关注。内政部目前正面临法律挑战，仍在努力根据一项为期十年的框架，确定未来几年各州的用水削减方案。

科罗拉多河水资源短缺影响着4000万人。这条河流灌溉着超过500万英亩的农田，并产生足够的电力供约70万户家庭使用。

由于过度使用、干旱和气候变化等因素导致河流水量减少，一些利益相关者表示，联邦政府应该在斡旋解决方案和资助能够增加西部供水的项目（如海水淡化厂）方面发挥重要作用。

一位参与西部某州水资源谈判的高级官员表示，伯格姆“匆忙”召集了几次与受影响州州长的会议，之后便“杳无音信”。

“他在华盛顿特区花了很多时间处理这些问题，但我认为如果他能深入研究并坚持下去，效果会更好，”这位官员说。

内政部予以反驳。该部门负责水资源和科学的助理部长安德里亚·特拉夫尼切克告诉CNN，伯格姆一直“积极参与”这一问题，他是“首位召集所有7位州长就科罗拉多河问题进行讨论的内政部长”。

“他每周都知道科罗拉多河发生的各种事情，”特拉夫尼切克补充道。

由于政府将重心放在华盛顿特区，因此正在将国家公园门票收入转移到华盛顿的项目上。

据 CNN 查阅的内部部门数据显示，近 300 名国家公园管理局工作人员，隶属于负责应对重大事件和灾难的事件管理团队，从远至加利福尼亚州和阿拉斯加州的公园被派往华盛顿，参与特朗普的“安全美丽”计划，该计划还包括打击犯罪的工作。

这位在国家公园管理局工作多年的员工形容这种程度的支持“简直太不正常了”，因为华盛顿特区一年一度的樱花节只召集了大约 60 名团队成员，而上周末的 IndyCar 比赛（为美国 250 周年夏季庆祝活动画上了句号）也只召集了 45 名团队成员。

虽然轮岗是自愿的，但该员工指出，由于纽约州政府部门裁员和招聘冻结，该机构已经人手不足。

“这正好说明华盛顿特区的运营比其他所有公园部门和工作人员都享有更高的优先级，”另一位公园管理局员工说道。

据CNN查阅的内部通讯显示，该部门正在请求国家公园管理局的专业团队“在9月份继续提供支持”，以“维持正在进行的出色工作”。目前尚不清楚他们将负责哪些工作，但特朗普曾表示，他希望下个月开始将华盛顿特区的一个公共高尔夫球场改造成锦标赛级球场。

当被问及事件管理团队成员被派往华盛顿特区参与美化项目时，该部门发言人马丁表示，这种“整体方法”是一种“常见做法”。

在史密森尼博物馆，特朗普政府的最新举措——一项指示伯格姆在国家美国历史博物馆外安装临时展览或标牌以“纠正博物馆中呈现的不准确信息”的行政命令——引起了两党的关注。

汤姆·布伦纳/《华盛顿邮报》/盖蒂图片社

本月，共和党参议员丽莎·穆尔科斯基和民主党参议员杰夫·默克利在致伯格姆的一封信中，捍卫了史密森学会“通过研究和教育而非政治叙事来分享客观历史证据”的宗旨。他们还询问了新标牌的成本，以及内政部是否会决定标牌上的内容。

几位现任和前任国家公园管理局员工告诉 CNN，他们对这种试图挑拨两个长期合作机构相互对立的做法感到不安。

一位曾在国家公园管理局担任领导职务的前员工表示：“史密森学会负责管理文物，而国家公园管理局负责管理历史发生的地点。强迫国家公园管理局在史密森学会外竖立带有贬损意味的标牌，无异于破坏美国历史的叙述。”

内政部没有回应关于新标牌的内容以及何时安装的问题。

这项举措也凸显了特朗普对史密森尼博物馆的权力有限。经过数月的展品审查、一份详述政府调查结果的长篇报告、由共和党议员主导的国会听证会以及总统本人的公开批评之后，那些受到审查的展品似乎基本没有改变。

尽管一些民主党议员急于捍卫其立场，史密森学会也在努力保持其非党派立场。“他们想要捍卫自身的独立性，”一位了解此事的国会高级助理表示，“他们不想带有​​党派色彩。”

与此同时，伯格姆继续大力宣传华盛顿特区的各项工作。在7月份接受凯蒂·米勒播客采访时，伯格姆特别提到了标志性的梅里迪安山公园喷泉的修复工作。

“北美最长的层叠式喷泉重新开放时，已经停用了不知多久，”他说。“在附近住了20年的居民甚至都不知道那是个喷泉。”

CNN 的 Akansha Singh、Logan Schiciano、Bruna Horvath、Rashell Marthans 和 Arpita Dasika 对本文亦有贡献。