As President Donald Trump prepares to headline America’s 250th anniversary, Democrats are accusing him of turning what Congress intended to be a bipartisan commemoration of America’s founding into a political celebration of Trump himself. 

A new report from Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee, shared first with MS NOW, argues that Trump has turned America 250 into what they dub a politicized “disaster.” 

But the report goes beyond criticizing the tone of the celebration. It accuses the president of sidelining the bipartisan commission created by Congress for America’s birthday and steering the anniversary toward a new organization tied to Trump and his allies — one that, Democrats warn, created opportunities for corruption and may have even committed fraud.

Trump’s new organization, Freedom 250, is associated with the UFC fight on the White House south lawn, a prayer gathering, the Great American State Fair on the National Mall and several other events tied to the nation’s anniversary.

Most notably, the authors of the report — Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee — raise questions about whether Freedom 250’s fundraising practices could amount to “potential wire fraud and charitable solicitation fraud.”

The report cites “sources interviewed by the committee Democrats” who claimed that donors who intended to give to a bipartisan commission created by Congress a decade ago to spearhead the semiquincentennial “were instead given wire instructions with Freedom 250’s banking information-including its routing number and account number — so that contributions would instead flow to Freedom 250.” The report does not provide further specific evidence or name the sources.

“A gift solicited in the name of the nation’s nonpartisan birthday commission,” the report states, “could thus be redirected without the donor’s knowledge, by an entity created to serve the president’s priorities.”

The report also accuses Freedom 250 of potentially steering “lucrative taxpayer-funded contracts to the president’s own operatives” and selling “presidential access to the highest bidder.” 

Freedom 250 was launched by Trump in December 2025 to “lead America’s 250th birthday celebrations throughout 2026 and beyond.” According to the report, it effectively shelved the congressionally created bipartisan America 250 commission, which declined to “fold Trump-aligned programming into its slate of events.”

The report concludes that, once Trump and the Freedom 250 organization got involved, the events and branding associated with the 250 celebrations took on “an increasingly partisan and ideological cast, a stark departure from the nonpartisan directive Congress established for the semiquincentennial.”

Ahead of the report’s release, Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, accused Trump of trying to make the celebration “all about him, all about his friends, his agenda.”

“It’s divided our country at a time, shockingly, when we ought to all be celebrating 250 years of the American experiment,” Huffman said.

On its website, Freedom 250 describes itself as the “non-partisan organization” that is “leading the celebration of our Nation’s 250th birthday” by delivering “defining presidential moments and signature events.”

Freedom 250 and the White House did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

As the July 4 events begin, most congressional Republicans have rallied behind the president’s outsize role and influence over the anniversary. But a few have hinted at some discomfort with how politicized events have become.

Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona, for instance, told MS NOW he wished there had been more “harmony” between the congressionally designated 250 commission and the “many” other groups. 

Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told MS NOW that, while “it’s the president’s call on what he did with this,” Murphy believes that “any time we can do things that are more bipartisan, I think it’s important.”

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., recently told reporters the anniversary “shouldn’t be partisan” and said he may make a “public inquiry” into what happened to money Congress appropriated for the celebrations. 

And Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told MS NOW that “hopefully” the president’s planned speech on July 4th will be “about America, not about him,” though Bacon noted “that’s not his propensity.”

Most Republicans approached by MS NOW, however, stood firmly behind the president.

“This guy is Mr. America,” Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, said. “I love the idea of leading from the top, leading from the front.”

“I don’t got a problem with it. He’s our president,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said. 

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told MS NOW, that “every president played a role whenever it was an important anniversary, right? It’s no different now,” adding that Trump is “trying to bring together the country by hosting events like this that should make us all proud.”

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told MS NOW he “absolutely” has no reservations about Trump putting himself at the center of the celebration. 

“He’s patriotic, he’s brought back prayer, he’s brought back being proud of America,” Norman said. 

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, dismissed the question of whether he had any reservations about how Trump had overseen the 250th celebration. “I mean, let’s talk about substantive things,” Self said.

Instead of criticizing Trump, several Republicans called out states — most led by Democrats — that opted not to officially participate in the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, accusing them of playing politics. The fair is organized by Trump-aligned Freedom 250.

“If there was a Democrat in the White House, the state of Tennessee would have been up here celebrating 250 years,” Burchett said. 

Democrats, meanwhile, argued the celebrations had become emblematic of Trump’s style of injecting politics — and himself — into everything. And, Democrats said, there are plenty of signs that the public is tired of it.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., argued the sparse crowds, for instance, at the state fair event on the mall are a “reflection” of what she says is the president’s “greater focus on who doesn’t belong rather than the great story of our nation.” 

Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said Trump “takes the joy” out of the big occasion.

And Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., was even blunter.

“No one’s coming to his shitty events,” Ryan said.

Still, Democrats insisted they would not allow Trump to completely dampen the mood. 

“Our pride as Americans can’t be taken away from us, no matter who is in the White House,” Ocasio-Cortez said. 

And Ryan said he is looking forward to marking the anniversary at home with his community. 

“Where we will all celebrate the good parts of the 250th,” he said.

The post Inside Trump’s takeover of the America 250 celebration appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.