In a letter sent to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on December 8, four senators expressed alarm over the National Park Service’s efforts to hire 300 U.S. Park Police officers in Washington D.C., which would double the force's numbers. According to the letter, they are concerned that the Trump administration is expanding the Park Police “with the goal of transforming it into a federal police force to be deployed across the city rather than following its mission of safeguarding national monuments, icons, and visitors.”
The letter cites a memo obtained by The Washington Post, which says that a goal for the force is to “establish the U.S. Park Police as the premier law enforcement agency in DC, capable of keeping DC safe regardless of inaction by MPD [Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia] or inaction by the DC City Council.”
The senators point out that the National Park Service is offering a $70,000 hiring bonus and is not requiring psychological or physical fitness testing, suggesting that the Trump administration is in a hurry to increase the size of the Park Police force. “This haste in both a hiring spree and waiving of critical testing and standards are clear signs that the administration is hijacking this federal police force for its own authoritarian purposes,” states the letter.
The senators included 21 questions in the letter and demanded that Secretary Burgum respond to each no later than December 19. The questions include, “What is the source of funding and funding authority for the $70,000 hiring bonus advertised on the website of the National Park Service?” and “How will the 300 new officers, in addition to the current officers on board, be dispatched across the National Park Service’s jurisdiction?”
“Amassing what is effectively a new federal police force is yet another Trump administration effort to consolidate and centralize his power as he continues to intimidate protestors, threaten free speech, and desensitize Americans to military presence on the streets,” wrote the senators.
According to Government Executive, USPP has hired 77 new officers since January, and more are expected to come on board soon. The publication said Aubrie Spady, an Interior spokesperson, called the senator’s request for answers “disgraceful” and said the surge of law enforcement in Washington is yielding results.
“The Trump administration cares about ensuring the safety of all Americans and will continue to hire more U.S. Park Police officers and crack down on crime to ensure D.C. is the safest capital in the world,” Spady said.
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