Muir Woods National Monument in California
Credit: NPS

August 8, 2025 - Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) led 12 Democratic colleagues on a letter demanding answers from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to rewrite American history by scrubbing national parks of accurate, inclusive, and science-based content. 
 
The lawmakers detail widespread censorship stemming from Secretarial Order No. 3431 and Executive Order 14253, which direct the National Park Service to revise interpretive materials to align with a narrow ideological narrative.
 
“Rather than fostering unity, this directive… seeks to present a more sanitized, inaccurate, and potentially divisive view of our national story,” the lawmakers write. “These efforts have already led to the attempted erasure of stories, narratives, and historical events at units of the National Park System all over the country.”
 
The letter outlines a disturbing pattern of censorship: the removal of a Native history exhibit at Muir Woods, efforts to soften references to slavery at Independence National Historical Park, and suppression of LGBTQ+ narratives at Stonewall National Monument. Across the park system, materials have been flagged or removed — from Junior Ranger books discussing slavery to signage on climate science, air pollution, and Indigenous dispossession.
 
The lawmakers also criticized the administration’s simultaneous push to slash the National Park Service’s budget by nearly 30% — the largest cut in over a century — which would threaten thousands of jobs, gut preservation programs, and lead to the potential sale or transfer of smaller park units.
 
“This is just one example of a broader pattern and much larger problem,” the letter continues. “Pressuring historical interpretation to conform to specific ideological standards threatens unbiased scholarship and public education… The freedom to learn the full scope of our history remains a fundamental part of our American heritage.”
 
The letter requests detailed documentation on all interpretation changes made under the order, the personnel involved, a review of changed or removed properties by each bureau, and a full accounting of public feedback.
 
“True patriotism involves confronting the nation's past honestly, building unity, and promoting reconciliation through a shared commitment to equality and justice,” the lawmakers write.
 
The letter was signed by Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Rep. Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.), Rep. Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).
 
Read the full letter here.
Source:  Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman