Who is paying for America's 250th celebrations? It's complicated

The presence of America250 and Freedom 250 has continued to spark confusion.

The Trump administration has been using a mix of taxpayer money and corporate donations to organize its own events celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary, effectively abandoning the bipartisan America250 entity created by Congress that has spent the last decade planning for the anniversary.

Over the last year, the Department of the Interior funneled at least $68.3 million of taxpayer money to the National Park Foundation, which Freedom 250 is a subsidiary of, to "support significant events to commemorate the nation’s semiquincentennial" and "A250 events," according to federal grant records.

Freedom 250 is a public-private partnership that the White House launched in December, and is separate from America250, which is overseeing the broader national commemoration.

In addition to the taxpayer funding, Freedom 250 has been soliciting donations from corporate sponsors that directly do business with the Trump administration, including Palantir, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and United Health Group, according to a list of some of the sponsors listed on the organization's website.

According to a sponsorship package described to ABC News, Freedom 250 offers tiered levels of participation ranging from $500,000 to over $10 million. The benefits include VIP event access, branding and -- for the biggest donors -- speaking opportunities at the July Fourth celebration in Washington, D.C., and invitations to a private reception hosted by President Donald Trump.

The structure of Freedom 250 -- which operates as an LLC h o use d within the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit National Park Foundation -- allows the group to withhold the amount of money companies have donated.

Some watchdog groups have raised ethics concerns, noting that many corporate sponsors have business before the government or significant government contracts, including Palantir and United Airlines.

Palantir holds multi-billion dollar government contracts with the U.S. government providing AI, data integration, and surveillance software. United Airlines also holds numerous contracts including with the Department of Defense for transport.

"Freedom 250, the public-private partnership funding Trump’s Fourth of July events (as well as other events), allows corporations to contribute to yet another one of Trump’s pet projects,” wrote Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group.

America250 -- also structured at a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit -- received a number of corporate sponsors as well -- 14 of which backed both entities, including Boeing, Northrup Gruman, Palantir, Boeing and United Airlines.

A report issued this week by Democrats on the House Committee on Natural Resources alleged that the White House-backed Freedom 250 organization has become a "hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment" that is exploiting National Park Foundation's charity status to avoid scrutiny and operate outside the requirements set by Congress for semiquincentennial events.

The report alleged that the Trump administration has pressured donors to give money to Freedom 250, steered donors away from America250, and sought to exploit confusion about the two organizations. According to the report, some donors who intended to give money to America250 were given bank information for Freedom 250 to funnel their money toward Trump's preferred entity.

"A gift solicited in the name of the nation's nonpartisan birthday commission could thus be redirected without the donor's knowledge, by an entity created to serve the President’s priorities. If true, such actions could constitute violations of several laws, ranging from potential wire fraud and charitable solicitation fraud under federal law to charitable solicitation violations under the laws of the District of Columbia, where Freedom 250 is registered and operates as an LLC," the report said.

Freedom 250 called the claims in the House Committee on Natural Resources Democratic report "categorically false."

"This so-called 'report' is nothing more than a partisan smear from politicians who would rather manufacture division than celebrate America’s 250th birthday alongside the rest of the country. Congressional members should be ashamed they are spending countless hours fabricating a report instead of joining Americans in creating an absolutely beautiful celebration. The claims are categorically false, and it’s disheartening that some in Washington are more interested in scoring political points than honoring our nation’s milestone," Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

A mem o issued this year by multinational law firm Skadden advised corporate clients to be aware of the difference between the two entities and "ensure before making a donation that there is no quid pro quo or other linkage with influencing a government decision."

"There are several key legal and reputational considerations to bear in mind when considering whether to donate. Of the organizations described below, Freedom 250 has already earned the attention of watchdog organizations and Democrats in Congress," the memo said.

Freedom 250 is a departure from the entity Congress envisioned a decade ago to organize events for the anniversary. In 2016, Congress appointed the America250 organization (officially known as the United States Semiquincentennial Commission) to spearhead the planning and celebration of America's 250th birthday. It was a bipartisan initiative signed into law by then-President Barack Obama and was led by citizens and lawmakers from both parties.

Days after President Donald Trump assumed office for the second time, he signe d an executive order establishing the White House Task Force on Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday and creating the public-private partnership for Freedom 250. One of the major distinctions between America250 and Freedom 250 is that the latter's task force -- which partners with the Freedom 250 LLC as part of the public-private partnership -- lacks congressional oversight and is contained wholly within the executive branch, giving Trump full control. The executive order creating Freedom 250 noted that it would be housed in the Department of Defense, which is responsible for coordinating funding and logistics.

Trump made himself chair of the task force and staffed the rest of the board with members of his administration, including the vice president and several Cabinet secretaries. In the executive order, Trump made clear that this task force would "execute an extraordinary celebration of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence," effectively sidelining the congressionally chartered commission. It made no mention of America250.

Until Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last July Fourth, the bipartisan commission received funding directly from Congress through annual appropriations. But the One Big Beautiful Bill Act struck all mention of the commission and instead allocated $150 million to the Department of the Interior to plan "events, celebrations, and activities" around the 250th. This effectively allowed for funding to be rerouted to Freedom 250.

America250 has continued to hold events that it planned to celebrate the nation's semiquincentennial. The group has events planned to celebrate the Fourth of July across the country, including a unity concert in Philadelphia, a benefit show in Los Angeles and its own fireworks display on the National Mall.

But the presence of both entities has continued to spark confusion. Perhaps most notably, several artists pulled out of the concert series set to coincide with the Great American State Fair, an event put on by Freedom 250 on the National Mall, after saying they mistook the event as being organized by America250.

Freedom 250 is also behind many of the events the president has touted, such as the Great American State Fair and an event at Mount Rushmore Friday night, where he will deliver remarks. Freedom 250 is also behind the massive "Salute to America" fireworks display and celebration planned in Washington, D.C., where the president will also speak.

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