Republican Rep. Andy Ogles penned a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday, asking that President Donald Trump’s mug be added to Mount Rushmore.
“Given the scale and scope of President Trump’s recent achievements—especially the impending enactment of the Big Beautiful Bill, the historic act that will ignite America’s Golden Age—it is essential that we immortalize President Trump’s likeness on Mount Rushmore,” the Tennessee congressman wrote on X Thursday.
“The legacy of Mount Rushmore cannot remain frozen in stone; it must evolve to reflect the full arc of American history, including its most recent and transformative chapter,” he concluded.
Carved into South Dakota’s Black Hills, Mount Rushmore was completed in 1941 and features the visages of former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Over the years, various proposals have been submitted to add other political figures, including former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama.
The Republican Party has been famously advocating for Trump to be added to the monument for years. However, the National Park Service has previously indicated that several structural issues within the sculpture’s rock formation make it difficult to add another face to the mountainside spot.
I’m asking @SecretaryBurgum to put Trump on Mt. Rushmore. Given the scale and scope of President Trump’s recent achievements—especially the impending enactment of the Big Beautiful Bill, the historic act that will ignite America’s Golden Age—it is essential that we immortalize… pic.twitter.com/KougHxnKT2
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) July 3, 2025
Ogles recognized these hurdles in his letter to Burgum, but argued: “We understand that physical modifications to Mount Rushmore raise logistical and preservation questions, but this discussion should not be foreclosed based on past bureaucratic resistance or political discomfort.”
“While meeting the logistical challenges may require engagement with state and/or tribunal officials, the national benefit of promptly recognizing President Trump’s accomplishments in restoring American greatness makes doing so a priority, and the benefits of elevating the dignity and relevance of the site, thus increasing both its grandeur and its visitor traffic, will accrue to South Dakota, the Lakota Sioux and the broader area,” he continued.
Maureen McGee-Ballinger, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Chief of Interpretation and Education, previously explained to the Argus Leader in 2020 that adding a new face to the structure could create “instabilities in the existing carving.”
“RESPEC supports our long-held belief that no other rock near the sculpted faces is suitable for additional carving,” McGee-Ballinger said, referring to the rock mechanics engineering firm that partnered with the National Park Service. “RESPEC also believes that if additional work were undertaken it is possible that exposing new surfaces could result in creation of potential instabilities in the existing carving.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, the Department of the Interior said it “takes all correspondence from Congress seriously and carefully reviews each matter.”
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