We’re back! Thanks to everyone following our “50 Weeks That Shaped America” series—and those of you who have signed up to receive full-video, ad-free versions of our show every week by supporting This Day.
The 250th is still happening! Here’s how folks are celebrating, commemorating, and conceiving the moment!
Washington Post: Trump administration seeks $10 million more for Freedom 250 events
Specifically, the Interior Department is asking for money to cover National Park Service costs from recent events including “the Rededicate 250 prayer event, the Great American State Fair, and the July Fourth Salute to America.”
$150 million had already been set aside for semiquincentennial celebrations
“It is unacceptable to ask the American people to bail out Freedom 250,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee overseeing Mall-related spending, wrote in a letter to Interior secretary Doug Burgum, asking for more details on why the administration was requesting the funds and how past money had been spent. “Congress already appropriated $150 million — without bipartisan input — with the administration promising that private donors would help finance the rest.”
Meanwhile, production is officially underway of the US Mint’s commemorative $1 coin featuring the President himself. Great detail here from The Guardian: “the version revealed on Wednesday is not identical to the previously approved design. Among the changes, the coin has a gold finish rather than being made of solid gold.”
Yes, federal law bars living presidents from appearing on US currency, though the Treasury has argued that the rule doesn’t apply to coins.
On a lighter note… Butter flags, bald eagle: Ohio’s 2026 butter cow celebrates America 250
We’re ready for Fair season.
The bagel’s journey from Jewish immigrant food to American breakfast staple
The New York Times: Was America Supposed to Be a Democracy?
The Atlantic: The Smithsonian’s Show Trial on Capitol Hill
The nation’s most scrutinized museum director showed up to Congress this week acutely aware of her audience. Anthea Hartig, the head of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, referred to the institution as “your” museum. She emphatically affirmed her love of this country. She even cited her family’s Revolutionary War roots. Hartig had been called to testify at two hearings that House Republicans had organized in response to a 162-page White House report accusing the American-history museum of “extreme political activism.” But her opening remarks, in which she also asserted that the report “does not fairly characterize the full body of work of this museum,” didn’t ward off a patriotism sniff test.
Here’s more from Artnet: I Watched the Unhinged Anti-Smithsonian Congressional Hearing So You Don’t Have To
Okay, that’s the end of this week’s America250 Watch.
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