特朗普政府一边动用纳税人税款，一边拉拢企业捐款，另行筹办专属建国 250 周年纪念活动，实质上搁置了国会设立、历经十年筹备的两党官方纪念机构 “美国 250 周年委员会(America250)”。
联邦拨款记录显示，过去一年，美国内政部至少拨付 6830 万美元纳税人资金给国家公园基金会，旗下子机构 “自由 250 计划(Freedom 250)” 可动用这笔款项，用于 “举办建国 250 周年大型纪念活动” 及 “美国 250 周年系列官方活动”。
“自由 250 计划” 是白宫去年 12 月推出的公私合作项目，独立于统筹全国纪念活动的官方机构 “美国 250 周年委员会”。 企业赞助方
除财政拨款外，自由 250 计划持续向多家与特朗普政府有业务往来的企业募集赞助，其官网公示的合作企业包括帕兰提尔科技、波音、洛克希德・马丁、联合健康集团等。
美国广播公司(ABC 新闻)拿到的赞助合作方案显示，该项目设置分级赞助门槛，赞助金额从 50 万美元至 1000 万美元以上不等。对应权益包含活动贵宾通道、品牌露出;顶级赞助商还能获得华盛顿独立日庆典发言资格，受邀出席特朗普总统主办的私人招待会。
自由 250 计划以有限责任公司(LLC)形式运营，挂靠在享有免税资质的 501 (c)(3) 非营利机构国家公园基金会名下，这一架构使其无需对外公示各家企业的具体捐款数额。
多家廉政监督组织对此提出伦理质疑：大量赞助企业手握联邦大额合同、与政府存在业务往来，帕兰提尔、联合航空均在此列。 帕兰提尔手握数十亿美元联邦订单，为政府提供人工智能、数据整合与监控软件;联合航空也持有多份国防部运输合作合同。
美国廉政公民组织(一家监督机构)发文表示：“自由 250 这个公私合作项目，靠资金支撑特朗普主推的独立日及各类纪念活动，等于给企业开辟渠道，去资助总统的私人重点项目。”
同样注册为 501 (c)(3) 非营利机构的美国 250 周年委员会也拥有一批企业赞助商，其中 14 家企业两边都投，包括波音、诺斯罗普・格鲁曼、帕兰提尔、联合航空。 不当行为指控
众议院自然资源委员会民主党议员本周发布一份报告，指控白宫扶持的自由 250 计划已成 “滋生贪腐、中饱私囊的温床”。该机构借国家公园基金会慈善免税身份规避监管，运作模式完全脱离国会为建国 250 周年纪念活动划定的法定要求。
报告还指控，特朗普政府一方面施压企业向自由 250 捐款，另一方面引导赞助商避开官方的美国 250 周年委员会，刻意混淆两家机构的身份。部分原本打算捐款给官方委员会的企业，被工作人员提供自由 250 的收款账户，资金最终流入总统属意的项目。
报告写道：“企业以全国无党派纪念委员会名义捐赠，捐款却在捐赠人不知情的情况下被转至服务总统个人诉求的机构。若指控属实，相关行为涉嫌触犯多项法律，包括联邦法律下的电信诈骗、慈善募捐欺诈，以及自由 250 注册运营地华盛顿特区的慈善募捐相关法规。”
自由 250 计划官方回应，称这份民主党报告里的所有指控 “完全不实”。
该项目发言人丹妮尔・阿尔瓦雷斯发表声明：“这份所谓报告纯粹是政客出于党派立场的抹黑。他们不愿和全体美国人一同庆祝建国 250 周年，反倒刻意制造对立。国会议员耗费大量时间编造这份不实报告，而非携手民众打造一场盛大庆典，实在令人不齿。所有指控均毫无根据，令人失望的是，华盛顿部分政客一心只想捞取政治筹码，而非致敬国家这一重要里程碑。”
跨国律所世达今年出具一份内部备忘录，提醒企业客户分清两家纪念机构的区别，“捐款前务必确认不存在利益交换，也不会借此影响政府行政决策”。
备忘录还写道：“企业决定是否捐款前，需重点考量法律风险与品牌声誉。上述两家机构中，自由 250 计划已遭到多家廉政监督组织及国会民主党议员重点关注。” 自由 250 计划 VS 美国 250 周年委员会
自由 250 计划完全偏离了国会十年前规划的全国纪念体系。2016 年，国会设立美国 250 周年委员会(正式名称：美国建国 250 周年纪念委员会)，统筹全国纪念活动规划。这是两党共同推动的法案，由时任总统奥巴马签署生效，委员会成员由两党民间人士与议员共同组成。
特朗普二度就任总统数日后，签署行政令成立白宫建国 250 周年纪念专项工作组，同步推出公私合作项目自由 250 计划。二者核心区别在于：自由 250 配套的专项工作组完全隶属于行政分支，不受国会监督，总统拥有全权掌控;行政令写明该项目挂靠国防部，由国防部统筹资金与后勤保障。
特朗普亲自出任工作组主席，班子其余成员均为其政府幕僚，包括副总统与多名内阁部长。这份行政令明确要求工作组 “筹办一场盛大的美国独立 250 周年庆典”，直接架空国会授权设立的官方委员会，全文只字未提美国 250 周年委员会。
去年独立日特朗普签署《宏伟发展法案》前，两党官方委员会每年直接从国会财政拨款获取运营资金。但该法案直接删除所有关于官方委员会的表述，转而划拨 1.5 亿美元给内政部，用于筹办各类建国 250 周年纪念活动，这笔资金实质上可分流至自由 250 计划。
美国 250 周年委员会仍按原定计划举办全国纪念活动，各地独立日活动有序推进，包括费城团结音乐会、洛杉矶公益演出，以及国家广场专属烟花秀。
但两套纪念体系并行，持续造成公众与企业混淆。最典型的案例是多名艺人原本计划参与自由 250 在国家广场举办的 “全美州际博览会” 配套演出，事后才发现主办方并非官方委员会，随即宣布退出。
特朗普大肆宣传的多场活动均由自由 250 操办：本次全美州际博览会、周五晚间拉什莫尔山总统演讲活动，以及华盛顿规模盛大的 “致敬美国” 烟花庆典，总统都会到场发表讲话。
Who is paying for America's 250th celebrations? It's complicated
The Trump administration has been using a mix of taxpayer money and corporate donations to organize its own events celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary, effectively abandoning the bipartisan America250 entity created by Congress that has spent the last decade planning for the anniversary.
Over the last year, the Department of the Interior funneled at least $68.3 million of taxpayer money to the National Park Foundation, which Freedom 250 is a subsidiary of, to "support significant events to commemorate the nation’s semiquincentennial" and "A250 events," according to federal grant records.
Freedom 250 is a public-private partnership that the White House launched in December, and isseparate from America250, which is overseeing the broader national commemoration.
Corporatedonors
In addition to the taxpayer funding, Freedom 250 has been soliciting donations from corporate sponsors that directly do business with the Trump administration, including Palantir, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and United Health Group, according to a list of some of the sponsors listed on the organization's website.
According to a sponsorship package described to ABC News, Freedom 250 offers tiered levels of participation ranging from $500,000 to over $10 million. The benefits include VIP event access, branding and -- for the biggest donors -- speaking opportunities at the July Fourth celebration in Washington, D.C., and invitations to a private reception hosted by President Donald Trump.
The structure of Freedom 250 -- which operates as an LLChousedwithin the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit National Park Foundation -- allows the group to withhold the amount of money companies have donated.
Some watchdog groups have raised ethics concerns, noting that many corporate sponsors have business before the government or significant government contracts, including Palantir and United Airlines.
Palantir holds multi-billion dollar government contracts with the U.S. government providing AI,data integration, and surveillance software.United Airlines also holds numerous contracts including with the Department of Defense for transport.
"Freedom 250, the public-private partnership funding Trump’s Fourth of July events (as well as other events), allows corporations to contribute to yet another one of Trump’s pet projects,” wrote Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group.
America250 -- also structured at a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit -- received a number of corporate sponsors as well -- 14 of which backed both entities, including Boeing, Northrup Gruman, Palantir, Boeing and United Airlines.
Allegationsof misconduct
A report issued this week by Democrats on the House Committee on Natural Resources alleged that the White House-backed Freedom 250 organization has become a "hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment" that is exploiting National Park Foundation's charity status to avoid scrutiny and operate outside the requirements set by Congress for semiquincentennial events.
The report alleged that the Trump administration has pressured donors to give money to Freedom 250, steered donors away from America250, and sought to exploit confusion about the two organizations. According to the report, some donors who intended to give money to America250 were given bank information for Freedom 250 to funnel their money toward Trump's preferred entity.
"A gift solicited in the name of the nation's nonpartisan birthday commission could thus be redirected without the donor's knowledge, by an entity created to serve the President’s priorities. If true, such actions could constitute violations of several laws, ranging from potential wire fraud and charitable solicitation fraud under federal law to charitable solicitation violations under the laws of the District of Columbia, where Freedom 250 is registered and operates as an LLC," the report said.
Freedom 250 called the claims in the House Committee on Natural Resources Democratic report "categorically false."
"This so-called 'report' is nothing more than a partisan smear from politicians who would rather manufacture division than celebrate America’s 250th birthday alongside the rest of the country. Congressional members should be ashamed they are spending countless hours fabricating a report instead of joining Americans in creating an absolutely beautiful celebration. The claims are categorically false, and it’s disheartening that some in Washington are more interested in scoring political points than honoring our nation’s milestone," Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
Amemoissued this year by multinational law firm Skadden advised corporate clients to be aware of the difference between the two entities and "ensure before making a donation that there is no quid pro quo or other linkage with influencing a government decision."
"There are several key legal and reputational considerations to bear in mind when considering whether to donate. Of the organizations described below, Freedom 250 has already earned the attention of watchdog organizations and Democrats in Congress," the memo said.
Freedom 250 vs. America250
Freedom 250 is a departure from the entity Congress envisioned a decade ago to organize events for the anniversary. In 2016, Congress appointed the America250 organization (officially known as the United States Semiquincentennial Commission) to spearhead the planning and celebration of America's 250th birthday. It was a bipartisan initiative signed into law by then-President Barack Obama and was led by citizens and lawmakers from both parties.
Days after President Donald Trump assumed office for the second time, hesignedan executive order establishing the White House Task Force on Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday and creating the public-private partnership for Freedom 250. One of the major distinctions between America250 and Freedom 250 is that the latter's task force -- which partners with the Freedom 250 LLC as part of the public-private partnership -- lacks congressional oversight and is contained wholly within the executive branch, giving Trump full control. The executive order creating Freedom 250 noted that it would be housed in the Department of Defense, which is responsible for coordinating funding and logistics.
Trump made himself chair of the task force and staffed the rest of the board with members of his administration, including the vice president and several Cabinet secretaries. In the executive order, Trump made clear that this task force would "execute an extraordinary celebration of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence," effectively sidelining the congressionally chartered commission. It made no mention of America250.
Until Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last July Fourth, the bipartisan commission received funding directly from Congress through annual appropriations. But the One Big Beautiful Bill Act struck all mention of the commission and instead allocated $150 million to the Department of the Interior to plan "events, celebrations, and activities" around the 250th. This effectively allowed for funding to be rerouted to Freedom 250.
America250 has continued to hold events that it planned to celebrate the nation's semiquincentennial. The group has events planned to celebrate the Fourth of July across the country, including a unity concert in Philadelphia, a benefit show in Los Angeles and its own fireworks display on the National Mall.
But the presence of both entities has continued to spark confusion. Perhaps most notably,several artists pulled out of the concert seriesset to coincide with the Great American State Fair, an event put on by Freedom 250 on the National Mall, after saying they mistook the event as being organized by America250.
Freedom 250 is also behind many of the events the president has touted, such as the Great American State Fair and an event at Mount Rushmore Friday night, where he will deliver remarks. Freedom 250 is also behind the massive "Salute to America" fireworks display and celebration planned in Washington, D.C., where the president will also speak.
