About face: Lawsuit targets plan to put Trump's image on popular national parks pass
Donald Trump is famous for putting his name or likeness on buildings, steaks, and sneakers -- but his administration is facing headwinds as it seeks to put his face on a popular national parks pass.
An environmental organization on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over plans to use a rendering of Trump on an all-access annual national parks pass for next year, characterizing the move as the "crassest, most ego-driven action yet" from the administration.
The Center for Biological Diversity accused the secretaries of the Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture of "unlawfully turning the Annual America the Beautiful Pass into a partisan political platform for President Trump," in violation of a federal statute requiring public participation in such decisions.
Federal law requires the pass to feature the winning photo of the National Parks Foundation's annual public lands photo contest, which for the 2026 pass is an image of Montana's Glacier National Park, the organization said.
"It's disgusting of Trump to politicize America's most sacred refuge by pasting his face over the national parks in the same way he slaps his corporate name on buildings, restaurants, and golf courses," Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. "The national parks are not a personal branding opportunity. They're the pride and joy of the American people."
The Interior Department, which oversees the national parks, announced plans last month for a new design for the $80 all-access annual pass last month, characterizing the "modernized graphics" as "featuring bold, patriotic designs that honor America's landscapes, heritage and outdoor legacy," with no mention of plans to use Trump's likeness.
Days later, the department unveiled the new design featuring Trump's face.
The group asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to force the Trump administration to remove the president's face from the pass and compensate them for attorneys' fees.
Officials with the Interior Department and the Department of Agriculture, which were named in the suit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News. A White House representative also did not immediately respond.
