House Republicans moved this week to "protect Mount Rushmore for generations to come" from activists who say the national monument is disrespectful to Native Americans.
The Mount Rushmore Protection Act would prevent federal funds from being used to change, destroy, or rename the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which features the faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., introduced the measure during the last Congress in response to former NBA player Jalen Rose's call to "retire" Mount Rushmore, saying it is "offensive."
"Our nation's history is not without its flaws, but there is no doubt the faces on Mount Rushmore represent democracy, freedom, and the great American experiment," Johnson said, according to Fox News. "Removing or changing Mount Rushmore will not change the past and will not move us forward as a country. We must protect Mount Rushmore for generations to come."
Opposition to the well-known monument intensified after former President Donald Trump visited the site in 2020, with Native Americans saying that the monument is built on sacred land that was taken from them after gold was found in the Black Hills.
Nick Tilsen, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, told Voice of America in 2020, "Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that's still alive and well in society today. It's an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people's land, then carve the white faces of the colonizers who committed genocide."
Johnson's bill states that the monument is "America's Shrine of Democracy" and "depicts the faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln with the beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota."
According to Fox News, Johnson's bill would also require that any reference to the memorial on maps and other documents must refer to "Mount Rushmore."
Thus far, House Republicans reportedly supporting the bill include Reps. Michael Guest of Mississippi, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Doug LaMalfa of California, Jim Banks of Indiana, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Chris Stewart of Utah, Troy Nehls of Texas, and Claudia Tenney of New York. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, the delegate from American Samoa and a nonvoting member, also supports the bill.
The Biden administration announced last week that it would block South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem's Independence Day fireworks celebration at the site for the third year in a row.
"The best way to celebrate America's Birthday is with fireworks at Mount Rushmore," Noem posted on Trump's social media platform Truth Social in response. "Today, the Biden Administration rejected them. Again."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.