Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended proposed cuts to his department’s fiscal 2026 budget before a Senate panel on Wednesday as lawmakers questioned an administration suggestion that some parts of the National Park Service could be managed by the states.
Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Chair Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and panel Democrats also questioned Burgum about the effect of reduced staffing since the beginning of the Trump administration.
Burgum defended the White House’s request to cut his department’s budget by roughly 30 percent from fiscal 2025, to $11.7 billion, with significant cuts at agencies including the National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs. The request would cut $900 million from NPS park operations, $158 million from the NPS Historic Preservation Fund, $77 million from national recreation and preservation grants and $73 million from construction.
