The new designs were announced earlier this year. In November, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum released a video stating that the agency would release passes featuring Trump and George Washington, among other “commemorative new designs.”
An environmental group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a recently-announced plan to plaster President Donald Trump’s face on select National Park Service passes.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Attorneys for the plaintiff organization, the Center for Biological Diversity, say that putting Trump’s face on National Park Service passes would likely violate federal law.
The new designs were announced earlier this year. In November, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum released a video stating that the agency would release passes featuring Trump and George Washington, among other “commemorative new designs.”
Burgum said that, starting January 1, the design would appear on some “America the Beautiful” passes, which grant visitors annual access to national parks and certain other public lands.
In his announcement, Burgum said that the availability of some designs would be limited. People who volunteer for the federal government, for instance, will be able to purchase a “volunteer pass” bearing a photograph of former President Theodore Roosevelt. Members of the military, in contrast, will have the option of buying a pass with a picture of Trump saluting soldiers.
The lawsuit alleges that many of these designs are inherently unlawful.
Attorneys note that, under provisions of the 2004 Federal Lands Recreation Enforcement Act, passes must generally display an image selected from among the winners of an annual photography competition held by the National Park Foundation, a private non-profit organization that helps raise funds for the National Park service.
Earlier this year, the National Park Foundation selected a photograph taken in Glacier National Park in Montana as the winner of the contest. The image, which featured a “breathtaking view” of “towering mountain peaks,” had already been approved for use on 2026 park passes.
“Blotting out the majesty of America’s national parks with a close-up of his own face is Trump’s grossest, most ego-driven action yet,” Center for Biological Diversity executive director Kieran Suckling told The New York Times in an emails statement. “In a single great image, it encapsulates what is so disturbing and bizarre about Trump’s view of presidential power: the disregard of law, the squashing of public involvement, and especially, the politicization of even the most mundane of government actions.”
“The national parks are not a personal branding opportunity,” he said. “They’re the pride and joy of the American people.”
Sources
Lawsuit Challenges Park Service Passes Featuring Trump
Department of the Interior Announces Modernized, More Affordable National Park Access
Lawsuit seeks to keep Trump’s face off of national parks annual pass
About face: Lawsuit targets plan to put Trump’s image on popular national parks pass
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