Press Release

Welch: “It’s a bitter irony that President Trump is honoring our nation’s anniversary by embracing many of the practices that the Founders rejected.” WASHINGTON, D.C . — Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) , Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution , criticized President Trump for using America’s 250 th anniversary to engage in self-promotion, self-dealing, and selling access to himself. In his remarks, Ranking Member Welch emphasized how President Trump’s actions mirror the concerns that shaped the United States’ founding, particularly in the way the president has fostered a marketplace for influence where access goes to the highest bidder. “In 2016, Congress came together to establish a planning commission to celebrate America’s 250 th anniversary, and the Commission was bipartisan. The goal was to allow America and our ideals to be the focus, and not the focus being on any one person. To my dismay and regret, President Trump, in my view, has decided to create a completely separate entity—called Freedom 250—which was to develop its own plans for our anniversary. And this entity, with very little oversight, is estimated to cost $103 million in taxpayer funds. The official planning organization, authorized by a bipartisan vote of Congress, has received a fraction of that,” said Senator Welch . “In my view, the president seems to be using this occasion to engage in self-promotion, self-dealing, and selling access to himself. That’s not what a 250 th anniversary—that belongs to each of us—should be about.” Senator Welch continued: “I can’t help but notice how closely the President’s actions mirror the concerns that shaped our founding. He has fostered a marketplace—a marketplace for influence, where access goes to the highest bidder. And it’s a bitter irony that President Trump is honoring our nation’s anniversary by embracing many of the practices that the Founders rejected…This celebration has to be about all of us, not about an individual person. It has to be about a shared sense of values and commitment to the future. And it has to be about a celebration, not private, personal gain. Those are the traditions we should be celebrating.” Read Senator Welch’s opening statement here and watch his full remarks below : Tim Whitehouse, Executive Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, testified on behalf of the Democratic minority. Witnesses for the Republican majority included Chris Griswold, Policy Director at American Compass, and Matthew Spalding, Dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College. Read and watch an excerpt from Ranking Member Welch’s exchange with Mr. Whitehouse: Sen. Welch: There was a separate entity that was created, and Freedom 250 has received over $100 million in taxpayer dollars for the country’s 250 th anniversary. There isn’t apparently much oversight. Can you just give your reaction to why this is a bad idea to have this separate entity? Mr. Whitehouse: What is happening through Freedom 250 and all the other things happening in our government, we’re moving to a government that’s not transparent, it’s not accountable, it’s using taxpayer funds and resources for partisan purposes in the support of a particular political person or people, and it is pay-to-play politics. So, we need accountability, we need transparency, we need guardrails, and we need oversight when organizations like Freedom 250 are created. Sen. Welch: On this question of a celebration of our, and I emphasize ‘our’ 250 th anniversary, how does it reflect on the capacity of everyone to share in that celebration if much of the celebration is focused on one individual? In this case, of course, President Trump? Can you describe your reaction to that and how it affects our ability as a country to really enjoy this in a shared way? Mr. Whitehouse: Yes. I think, you know, as the other speakers—Dr. Spalding, and Dr. Griswold, and Chairman Schmitt, and Senator Welch, and others—as you have mentioned, this should be a communal celebration. This should be a celebration of shared civic values, and understanding our history, and looking forward to the future. And it’s sad that it’s sort of come out this way into a spectacle for a political person. And it’s kind of what our Founding Fathers warned against. ###