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Days after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum named himself the direct supervisor of the U.S. Park Police Chief, the head of the agency abruptly retired from the force.
Burgum signed the order bypassing the regular chain of command on August 25th, but the Interior department didn't publish it online until last Thursday. The next day, the Interior department announced that Park Police Chief Jessica Taylor was retiring from the force and taking a job at the Social Security Administration.
The shakeup at USPP comes as Burgum has made numerous TV appearances taking credit for President Donald Trump's militarization of Washington, D.C., while national guard troops have taken over groundskeeping duties to cover for Burgum's staffing cuts at the National Park Service.
House panel hears call to restore park staff
At Friday's field hearing in Grand Teton National Park, members of the House Natural Resources Committee were warned that the Park Service would be unable to address the growing maintenance backlog in the parks unless Congress reversed President Trump's staffing cuts.
“We won’t be able to continue this success without the planners, engineers, compliance officers, budget experts, landscape architects, maintenance staff, carpenters and so many more Park Service staff who make it possible for the Great American Outdoors Act to fund the work on the ground,” said Kristen Brengel with the National Parks Conservation Association.
Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins fought back tears as he talked about the value of park employees and community partnerships.
“There’s magic in this place," Jenkins said. “There’s magic in this place because of these people.”
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America’s parks deserve real leadership from Congress, even if that means telling the White House that they’re on the wrong track.”
