{"id":2596172,"date":"2026-04-28T13:49:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-withdraws-nominee-to-lead-national-park-service\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T13:52:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:52:51","slug":"trump-withdraws-nominee-to-lead-national-park-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-withdraws-nominee-to-lead-national-park-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump withdraws nominee to lead National Park Service"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-withdraws-nominee-to-lead-national-park-service%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2596172&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of hospitality executive scott Socha to lead the National Park Service, increasing uncertainty for an agency the administration has sought to shrink. The White House announced Socha\u2019s withdrawal after he was nominated in February, and socha later said he stepped aside for \u201cpersonal reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Socha\u2019s nomination had drawn criticism from some liberal and environmental groups, who argued he lacked the qualifications to oversee the parks and other historical sites managed by the Interior Department. The NPS has been led by acting director Jessica Bowron, and during Trump\u2019s second term thousands of employees have left or been laid off.<\/p>\n<p>The move comes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/some-worry-illinois-spending-priorities-under-pressure-by-ongoing-migrant-care\/\" title=\"Illinois spending priorities strained by ongoing migrant care concerns\">amid budget pressure<\/a>: the administration\u2019s fiscal 2027 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fla-sen-rick-scott-accountability-should-be-basic-function-of-govt-but-dems-and-biden-failing-to-do-so\/\" title=\"Fla. Sen. Rick Scott: Accountability should be basic function of govt, but Dems and Biden failing to do so\">budget request<\/a> asks for $2.2 billion for the NPS,a $1 billion cut. Conservation advocates warn that staff reductions and lower funding threaten park protection and operations, citing reported workforce losses of about 4,000 staff (around 25% since January 2025) and claims the proposal would \u201cgut\u201d the agency.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> withdrew his nominee to lead the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/national-parks\/\">National Park<\/a> Service, adding to the uncertainty looming over the agency, which the Trump administration is seeking to shrink.<\/p>\n<p>The White House gave notice of the withdrawal of the nomination for hospitality executive Scott Socha on Monday as part of an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2026\/04\/nominations-and-withdrawals-sent-to-the-senate-d935\/\">announcement<\/a> on the latest nominees and withdrawals for agency positions. The NPS, which is part of the Interior Department, is responsible for managing the country\u2019s national parks, monuments, and other historical sites.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4545545\/zeldin-delauro-spar-climate-change-doctrine\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Zeldin and DeLauro spar over climate change doctrine: \u2018You think I made up these cases?\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4545000\/epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-clashes-democrats-climate-change-public-health\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Lee Zeldin clashes with Democrats over climate change and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-to-show-lockdowns-are-killing-more-people-than-the-virus\/\" title=\"How To Show Lockdowns Are Killing More People Than The Virus\">public health<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4544856\/interior-department-kills-two-offshore-wind-projects-buyout-agreements\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Interior kills two more offshore wind projects with lease buyout agreements<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Trump nominated Socha in February. He worked as president for parks and resorts at Delaware North, a Buffalo, New York-based food service and hospitality company. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Socha said in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/energy-environment\/5852422-trump-park-service-nominee\/\">statement<\/a> to the<em> Hill<\/em> that he withdrew his nomination due to \u201cpersonal reasons.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am grateful to the President and the Secretary of the Interior for the confidence placed in me and appreciative of the consideration shown throughout the nomination process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Some liberal and environmentalist groups have spoken out against Socha\u2019s nomination, arguing that he was unqualified to oversee the hundreds of sites the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legislators-request-disaster-appropriations-for-public-lands-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Legislators request disaster appropriations for public lands - Washington Examiner\">park service manages<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur parks deserve far better than someone who spent his entire career trying to privatize them,\u201d Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss said in reaction to Socha\u2019s nomination withdrawal. The Center for Western Priorities is a conservation and advocacy organization that often aligns with liberal policies.<\/p>\n<p>The Park Service is currently led by acting director Jessica Bowron. During Trump\u2019s first term, the service was led by a number of acting directors. <\/p>\n<p>Thousands of NPS employees have been laid off or left the agency since the start of Trump\u2019s second term. <\/p>\n<p>As part of its fiscal 2027 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/2026-04\/fy2027greenbooknps_0.pdf\">budget request<\/a>, the Trump administration has asked for $2.2 billion for NPS, which would be a $1 billion reduction in funding. The White House budget proposal is a request to Congress, and legislators have ignored <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >massive agency cut requests<\/a> from the Trump administration in previous years.<\/p>\n<p>Conservationists have warned that the reduction in staffing and low budget threaten the protection and maintenance of national parks. <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4545000\/epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-clashes-democrats-climate-change-public-health\/\"><strong>LEE ZELDIN CLASHES WITH DEMOCRATS OVER CLIMATE CHANGE AND PUBLIC HEALTH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The National Parks Conservation Association said <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npca.org\/articles\/11371-president-s-budget-proposal-slashes-national-park-service-funding-amid\">this month<\/a> that, since January 2025, the Park Service has lost about 25% of its workforce, which is over 4,000 staff.<\/p>\n<p>The group said the administration\u2019s budget request would \u201cgut the National Park Service, threatening the protection, maintenance and operation of more than 430 national parks nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump withdrew Scott Socha\u2019s National Park Service nomination, adding uncertainty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3511,"featured_media":2596173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP25125773834593.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[45026,52523,34544,3634],"class_list":["post-2596172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-government-appointments","tag-national-park-service","tag-presidential-nomination","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP25125773834593.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3511"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596172"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2596176,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596172\/revisions\/2596176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2596173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2596172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}