President Donald Trump reinstates order to build 'National Park of American Heroes'
President Donald Trump announced Thursday he signed an executive order bringing back his "National Park of American Heroes."
"I have signed an Executive Order to resume the process of creating a new national park full of statues of the greatest Americans who ever lived," Trump said in remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol Building. "We're going to be honoring our heroes, honoring the greatest people from our country. We're not gonna be tearing down, we're gonna be building up."
Trump signed a similar executive order in 2020, which former President Joe Biden revoked the following year. While the original order called for the park's completion before the country's 250th anniversary in 2026, the updated timeline calls for it to be done "as expeditiously as possible."
The original order was signed amid nationwide protests against systemic racism, some of which brought down statues of people associated with violent histories. Another part of the order reinstates a 2020 order to protect monuments and federal offices from vandalism.
Who will be in the 'National Garden of American Heroes?'
The original order suggested the statues should depict "historically significant Americans" such as scientists, civil rights leaders, police officers labor leaders, judges, authors and teachers, to name a few.
"None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honoring, remembering, and studying," the order from 2020 states.
It also specified the following people to be included in the garden:
- John Adams
- Susan B. Anthony
- Clara Barton
- Daniel Boone
- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
- Henry Clay
- Davy Crockett
- Frederick Douglass
- Amelia Earhart
- Benjamin Franklin
- Billy Graham
- Alexander Hamilton
- Thomas Jefferson
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Abraham Lincoln
- Douglas MacArthur
- Dolley Madison
- James Madison
- Christa McAuliffe
- Audie Murphy
- George S. Patton, Jr.
- Ronald Reagan
- Jackie Robinson
- Betsy Ross
- Antonin Scalia
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Harriet Tubman
- Booker T. Washington
- George Washington
- Orville and Wilbur Wright
Trump's reinstated order calls on the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy to recommend other potential figures to include in the garden and bring the total number of people honored to 250.
Neither order specified a location for the park but assigned a task force to propose locations. The 2020 order specified the park will be "on a site of natural beauty," near at least one population hub and avoid disrupting the local community.
Contributing: Jason Lalljee, Maureen Groppe, Paste BN
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at Paste BN. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com, and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.