Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the top Democrat overseeing funding for the National Park Service— today led U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) to sound the alarm over the Trump Administration’s so-called “modernization” plans for national park access, including several alarming partisan, polarizing initiatives that undermine the spirit of public lands for all.
The Senators wrote to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, “Among the announced changes is a decision to remove Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of fee-free days—days intended for celebration and increased affordability and access to our National Parks. At the same time, President Trump’s birthday will be added as a fee-free day. Not only does this send the deeply troubling message that these days of profound historical importance in the struggle for civil rights are not worth honoring, but it also further promotes the President’s agenda of self-celebration.”
“This so-called modernization also includes the redesign of the America the Beautiful annual passes by replacing images depicting our nation’s public lands with photos of President Trump. This change turns the America the Beautiful pass—a program intended to promote access and affordability—into a vehicle for more self-celebration and self-aggrandizing,” they continued. “While the images on these passes are typically replaced every year, as outlined in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the selection process is required by law to occur through a public competition, not a unilateral administrative decision. As such, the legality of this change is questionable at best and already the subject of litigation.”
“National parks are national treasures and exist as spaces where people, regardless of background and political affiliation, can come together and enjoy the outdoors. These changes do nothing to modernize how people visit national parks and are instead a thinly veiled attempt to use our nation’s most iconic landscapes to further the self-promotion of President Trump and disparage our shared history,” the group of Senators stressed.
Merkley has been outspoken about Trump’s authoritarian actions and abuse of public resources for self-promotion. The non-partisan National Park Service serves all Americans, but this decision unnecessarily politicizes government services, potentially breaking the law as well.
On October 21, 2025, Merkley took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to speak directly to the American people and ring the alarm bells about the Trump Administration’s authoritarian takeover of the country. He spoke for 22 hours 37 minutes—the third longest speech in Senate history.
Full text of the letter can be found by clicking here and follows below:
Dear Secretary Burgum:
We write to express our deep concern over the National Park Service’s “modernization of national park access” in 2026, announced on November 25, 2025. This so-called modernization includes several alarming partisan, polarizing initiatives that have no place within our nation’s public lands, which are meant for all people to visit and enjoy.
Among the announced changes is a decision to remove Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of fee-free days—days intended for celebration and increased affordability and access to our National Parks. At the same time, President Trump’s birthday will be added as a fee-free day. Not only does this send the deeply troubling message that these days of profound historical importance in the struggle for civil rights are not worth honoring, but it also further promotes the President’s agenda of self-celebration.
We as a country have sought to preserve and tell the story of our history, including through the National Park Service, which operates 20 national park treasures dedicated to the history of the civil rights movement and partners with dozens of other affiliated properties connected to the National Park Service through the African American Civil Rights Network.
This so-called modernization also includes the redesign of the America the Beautiful annual passes by replacing images depicting our nation’s public lands with photos of President Trump. This change turns the America the Beautiful pass—a program intended to promote access and affordability—into a vehicle for more self-celebration and self-aggrandizing. While the images on these passes are typically replaced every year, as outlined in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the selection process is required by law to occur through a public competition, not a unilateral administrative decision. As such, the legality of this change is questionable at best and already the subject of litigation.
National parks are national treasures and exist as spaces where people, regardless of background and political affiliation, can come together and enjoy the outdoors. These changes do nothing to modernize how people visit national parks and are instead a thinly veiled attempt to use our nation’s most iconic landscapes to further the self-promotion of President Trump and disparage our shared history. In light of these alarming changes, we request that you provide full and complete responses to the following questions no later than January 30, 2026:
- Provide the Agency’s reasoning for removing both Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Juneteenth as fee-free days.
- The National Park Service has traditionally celebrated both Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Juneteenth through ranger-led programs, interpretive talks, performances, community gatherings, and volunteer service opportunities. Will the National Park Service continue each of these traditions, and if not, what specifically will the National Park Service cancel in 2026?
- Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S. Code § 6804(a)(2)) requires an annual, open public competition for determining the recreation park pass designs and should be “used as a means to educate the American people about Federal recreational lands and waters.” In practice, this competition has been held by the National Park Foundation through their Share the Experience Photo Contest. While a competition was held for the 2026 passes, the winning image was relegated to the new, more expensive Nonresident Annual Pass, rather than the customary general Annual Pass. Please describe what process was used to determine the 2026 recreation pass designs, including those specifically for the general Resident Annual Pass depicting George Washington and President Trump and the Military Annual Pass depicting President Trump.
- By what date does the administration plan to remedy this violation of federal law?
- Will U.S. residents purchasing an America the Beautiful Annual Pass be able to choose an alternative design that does not depict President Trump?
- Assuming some people will decide to forgo purchasing an Annual Pass if an alternative is unavailable, has the administration considered how this may reduce revenue and park visitation?
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