House Natural Resources Committee Democrats published a scathing report Thursday accusing President Donald Trump of manipulating the nation’s coming Fourth of July celebrations to focus on himself, raising questions about whether the administration misused the National Park Service’s philanthropic foundation.
The 55-page report, “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday,” includes allegations that the administration focused on adding key fundraisers from the president’s political campaigns to the National Park Foundation’s board.
The committee’s Democrats have previously hammered the administration’s use of anonymous private donations to fund celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“The American people deserve to know the truth about how the official national celebration of our country’s 250th anniversary was stolen, along with a large — and so far unaccounted for — sum of their taxpayer dollars,” said California Rep. Jared Huffman, the panel’s top Democrat.
