President Trump was officially sworn-in as President last month. Since then President Trump has issued a series of Executive Orders and agencies have issued Secretarial Orders that effect historic preservation priorities. Preservation Action is paying close attention to these actions and working to better understand the potential impacts.

During his first week in office President Trump issued Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture order, which is similar to an order we saw in the first Trump administration that seeks to advance a policy that Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage. President Trump also issued the Celebrating America's 250th Birthday order which calls for a grand celebration for America's upcoming semiquincentennial in 2026, establishes a task force to honor and celebrate the anniversary, reestablishes a National Garden of American Heroes to build and rebuild monuments to American heroes, and calls for the protection of monuments from vandalism.

Last week the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo ordering a temporary pause on all federal agency grant, loan, and federal assistance programs. As part of the pause the Historic Preservation Fund and federal Historic Tax Credit were specifically cited as requiring review. The order was rescinded shortly after and a federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze, but still led to significant unease and uncertainty for historic preservation priorities, including State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers temporarily being unable to access federal funds.

This week, a recent Secretarial Order from the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum encourages increased energy production on federal lands and calls for "actions to review, and as appropriate, revise all withdrawn lands". The order has sparked concern that it could lead to changes to National Monument designations, many of which contain important historic and cultural resources. During his first term, President Trump reduced the size of the Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, while President Biden restored the boundaries of the monuments under the Antiquities Act.

Preservation Action will continue to monitor these actions and more. We are committed to encouraging support of vital historic preservation programs and protections and providing the resources and tools you need to be effective advocates. Stay tuned for more!