Did Trump divert first responders to DC beautification projects before Grand Canyon flash flood?

A rumor that U.S. President Donald Trump diverted 300 first responders to Washington, D.C., to work on his administration’s beautification projects circulated online in early September 2026. People sharing the claim suggested they would have proved key in rescue efforts, possibly saving lives, had they been available immediately following the Aug. 29 flash floods inside Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park. We have not yet found evidence that would confirm or debunk this rumor.

The National Park Service, an agency under the Interior Department, announced closures to bridges, the Colorado River, lodging and trails, as well as confirming two deaths, one person missing and around 80 people rescued or evacuated.

An NPS news release said the two people who died, John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, both of Granbury, Texas, were hiking in Bright Angel Canyon and were a part of the same group as the missing person. A key water pipeline sustained severe damage, as well.

In one example of the rumor, on Sept. 1, an X user posted (archived) a message appearing to place blame for the deaths on Trump. 

(@factpostnews accessed via X)

Other posts featured the claim on Bluesky (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), TikTok (archived) and X (archived).

Some posts directly cited the online publication The Lever, which published an article on Sept. 1 with the headline “Before Deadly Floods, Trump Diverted Emergency Responders To Beautify D.C.” The story’s subheading reads: “Trump reassigned 300 National Park Service emergency responders to golf course and reflecting-pool renovations before the Grand Canyon flooded.”

The Lever’s article cited a CNN story published prior to the floods on Aug. 25, telling of Trump’s administration sending 300 NPS incident management team workers — a division responding to wildfires and other incidents — to work on what CNN dubbed Trump’s Washington, D.C., “pet projects,” such as the past renovations for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the future overhaul of the East Potomac Park golf course. The CNN article does not say exactly when the purported staffing shifts occurred.

The CNN reporters cited their own review of internal communications and department data, as well as anonymous sources regarding other information.

Neither the Lever’s article nor users’ posts explicitly said the Trump administration’s reported diversion of 300 workers hampered rescue efforts surrounding the flash floods. Either way, users inferred it, some believing Trump very recently diverted the workers, with one Snopes reader emailing, “Did tRump divert 300 specialized emergency first responders from American national parks to work on his Reflecting Pool, in the midst of needing them for Grand Canyon rescues?”

Snopes has not been able to review the same internal documentation CNN cited, nor have we located information that might allow us to conclusively rule on the veracity of the claim that Trump’s reported diversion of first responders hindered Grand Canyon flood rescue efforts. This claim is therefore unproven and we have left it unrated. 

Via email, the White House referred us to the Interior Department, where a department spokesperson said of the rumor that the reported diversion of workers to Washington harmed the flood response, “That is 100% false.”

We requested documentation, information and/or comment from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, CNN, Coconino County Emergency Response, Grand Canyon National Park, The Lever and NPS, and will update this article if we receive further information.

A brief timeline of rescue efforts

Within three hours of the flooding on Aug. 29, NPS Grand Canyon shared details about officials evacuating 50 people by air. By the next morning, the division reported 62 total evacuations out of the roughly 80 rescues to date, and said it had gotten assistance from the Arizona Public Safety Department.

A Sept. 1 notice from NPS Grand Canyon announced the continuation of search-and-rescue operations, as well as that the “NPS Western Type 3 Incident Management Team” — the same as the incident management teams CNN and The Lever reported about — would be taking over command as of that morning. The Arizona Daily Sun published a photo reportedly showing a member of that same team observing an Aug. 31 news conference, two days following the flooding.

For further reading about Trump’s beautification efforts in the nation’s capital, we previously reported about an allegation that his administration chopped down dozens of beloved cherry trees to renovate a golf course, as well as that his motorcade ride inside the reflecting pool caused damage he later blamed on others.

Sources