WASHINGTON — A new report released Thursday by House Democrats accuses consultants with ties to President Donald Trump of potentially committing financial fraud by steering donations away from the official bipartisan organizer of America’s 250th anniversary celebration and into a rival group created by his administration.
The report is based in part on interviews conducted by Democratic staff members of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Those interviews indicate that donors who wanted to help celebrate the nation’s milestone were caught in what could be described as a bait-and-switch scheme — one that, if accurate, may have broken several criminal laws.
According to the report, donors who believed they were sending money to America250 — a bipartisan committee established by Congress — were instead handed banking and routing numbers belonging to a separate but similarly named organization called Freedom 250.
The critical distinction, Democrats say, is that Freedom 250 was created under the Trump administration as what the report describes as “a vehicle for a Christian nationalist, partisan, and Trump-centered vision of American identity.”
Freedom 250 has pushed back against the report’s findings. Spokesperson Danielle Alvarez, who previously worked as a spokesperson for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, called the report “categorically false” and a “partisan smear from politicians who would rather manufacture division” than honor a national milestone.
“Freedom 250 remains fully committed to uniting Americans at this historic moment and giving all Americans a spectacular birthday they can be proud of — and we won’t be distracted by those rooting for it to fail,” Alvarez said.
The group has been behind a series of high-profile events, including a UFC cage fight at the White House on Trump’s 80th birthday, a Great American State Fair on the National Mall, and an upcoming July 4 celebration featuring a Trump speech and what the president has described as the “show of a lifetime.”
Democrats argue the situation reflects a larger pattern in which Trump took over the nation’s 250th birthday festivities, funneling tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds and private donations toward efforts that boosted “the President’s ego, political ideology and pet projects.” A significant portion of that spending allegedly went to companies with connections to Trump’s political operation, including event planners tied to the rally that took place just before the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Rep. Jared Huffman, the ranking Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, expressed strong criticism of the situation. “The American people are the big losers in this,” he said. “I’m old enough to remember the bicentennial in 1976. No one cared about party labels or political agendas, religious agendas or anything else. Donald Trump stole that. He took this unifying America250 moment, and he made it all about himself.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The Democratic report details how the Trump administration moved to take control of America250, the nonprofit arm of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which Congress established in 2016 to coordinate celebrations marking the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
After facing resistance, the administration created Freedom 250 last fall as a limited liability corporation operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Park Foundation, the fundraising arm of the National Park Service.
Freedom 250 appears to have only one employee: CEO Keith Krach, a wealthy Trump supporter who held a position in the State Department during the president’s first term.
Democrats contend this organizational structure allows Freedom 250 to function as a “financial black box,” avoiding the competitive bidding, accounting, and transparency requirements that would normally apply to a federally connected entity receiving tens of millions in public and private funds.
Under a major tax and spending legislation passed by Congress, $150 million in federal money was set aside for the Interior Department to fund 250th anniversary events. America250 had anticipated receiving $100 million of that total but has so far only received $25 million, according to the Democratic report.
Huffman noted that even in his capacity as a member of a congressional oversight committee, he cannot determine exactly how much taxpayer money has been redirected to Freedom 250.
The report also alleges that Krach traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January to personally solicit foreign government officials and business executives for financial contributions to the birthday celebrations. Trump appointees at the State Department, including some ambassadors, are also said to have hosted fundraising events abroad and sent written requests for foreign donations to Freedom 250. Alvarez denied that the group accepts foreign donations, and Krach did not respond to a request for comment.
Among Freedom 250’s publicly identified sponsors are defense contractors, oil companies, and major technology firms — many of which hold federal contracts, have matters pending before federal agencies, or are companies in which Trump has personally invested. Democrats warned this creates the appearance of a pay-to-play arrangement in which donors to Trump’s favored projects might receive preferential treatment from his administration.
No public accounting of the total corporate donations has been released. Freedom 250 also permits donors to remain anonymous, and contributions are tax deductible.
The potential criminal wrongdoing alleged in the report centers on fundraising activities by Meredith O’Rourke, who served as national finance director for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and as a board member for the parent company of his Truth Social media platform.
O’Rourke’s firm, Forward Strategies, originally worked as a contractor for America250, which partnered with the White House to organize last year’s military parade in Washington timed to Trump’s 79th birthday. O’Rourke has also been a leading fundraiser for other Trump-backed initiatives, including the construction of a White House ballroom, a planned renovation of the Kennedy Center, and the Garden of American Heroes project.
After Freedom 250 was established last year, the report claims corporate donors were pressured to pull their financial commitments from America250 and redirect their support to the new Trump-backed entity.
Democrats say they interviewed donors who were misled by fundraisers — including O’Rourke — into thinking they were giving to America250, but were provided wire transfer instructions that sent their funds to a bank account controlled by Freedom 250. The report suggests this conduct could constitute wire fraud. O’Rourke did not respond to a request for comment.
