Shot/Chaser: Republicans Praise National Park Staff For Working Without Pay After Trump Laid Off Workers and Slashed Funding
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Washington, D.C. – During a press conference today, Speaker Mike Johnson praised National Park staff for working without pay during the shutdown to maintain the parks. However, Trump’s cuts to the National Park Service had forced staff to be in “survival mode” before the shutdown even began. Due to Trump’s staffing cuts, the National Park Service lost 24% of its permanent employees – leaving one-fifth of parks significantly strained and understaffed. Now, Johnson and Republicans are choosing to keep the government shut down and force National Park employees to work without pay, instead of lowering costs or protecting health care access – all to protect tax breaks for billionaires.
SHOT: Speaker Mike Johnson praised National Park staff for working without pay – which is a direct result of the Republican shutdown.
CHASER: Trump and Republicans cut staff and slashed funding from the National Park Service – leading to more than 90 national parks reporting problems between April and July this year.
- New York Times: Trump Shrank Staffing of National Parks. See How Many Are Struggling.
- The Atlantic: Trump Is Setting the National Parks Up to Fail
- The Guardian: US national parks staff in ‘survival mode’ to keep parks open amid Trump cuts
- The Guardian: Turmoil, resignations and ‘psychological warfare’: how Trump is crippling US national parks