A renovation of Washington, D.C. heavy on gold leaf and marble has to be paid for with something — and that money, according to reporting by The New York Times, is coming from the rest of the nation's parks and public spaces.

The Times reports that President Donald Trump's administration has thrown the 433 sites managed by the National Park Service — the Interior Department agency Congress created in 1916 to run the park system — into turmoil, shifting funding and workers toward favored projects in Washington, slashing staff across the country, and scrubbing exhibits the administration says "inappropriately disparage Americans."

Early last year, the administration began gutting the Park Service workforce, leaving at least 20 percent of parks significantly understaffed, according to the Times. Earlier this year, it funneled at least $67 million generated by park entrance fees — revenue that under federal rules is generally reserved for maintenance and visitor services at the parks that collect it — into Washington projects favored by Trump, including his botched Reflecting Pool repairs.

As a result, hundreds of repairs and upgrades around the country may go unfunded this year, according to government documents. Then there is the contentious proposal to trade away a small parcel of Yosemite National Park, a crown jewel of the park system, to a private developer. A bipartisan group of 153 lawmakers pledged this week to block the land exchange, declaring that "public lands belong in public hands." That pledge sets up a direct confrontation between Congress and the administration over the exchange.

"Any one of these changes could be catastrophic in its own right, especially as it relates to staffing and funding," said Dan Wenk, who retired as superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. "When the next administration comes, Republican or Democrat, funding may be restored, but it's going to be incredibly difficult to rebuild."

The Times also spoke with Fran P. Mainella, a Republican who led the Park Service under President George W. Bush. Mainella said Trump may not understand the value of parks to the public and the economy. "We have to find a better way to tell that story to him, so he understands that these parks are here for current and future generations, and part of his responsibility is to make sure they stay that way," she said.

The report noted that it is "unclear if Mr. Trump has ever visited a national park, either while in office or as a private citizen; his forays outdoors typically involve a golf course." White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers declined to say whether Trump had been to a park, saying only that he "loves our national parks and is personally invested in making them great."

Meanwhile, the administration awarded a no-bid contract to cover four statues near the National Mall in 23.75-karat gold leaf before the country's 250th birthday — the semiquincentennial in July 2026 — according to the Times. It also repaired nine ornamental fountains in Washington that had been dry for years. But those cosmetic fixes "siphoned money from urgent upgrades elsewhere."

"While the administration added Washington sites to a list of White House priorities, it relegated about 1,500 other projects at more than 200 sites nationwide to a separate list labeled 'low priority,' according to government documents," the Times reported. How many of those roughly 1,500 deferred projects get funded — and whether the Yosemite exchange survives the bipartisan opposition — are the open questions to watch as the Park Service's overhaul continues.