Kevin McCarthy Claims $200 Million for Pelosi’s Park Remains in Reconciliation Bill

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters Thursday in a press conference that Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (R-CA) $200 million for a park in San Francisco apparently remains in President Joe Biden’s reconciliation bill.

“There is one thing I’ve never heard pulled out of the bill, the 200 million for Pelosi’s park,” McCarthy said. “That apparently will always stay in.”

McCarthy’s press conference came as President Biden issued a fresh reconciliation framework with revised provisions. But McCarthy suspects Pelosi’s $200,000 million for a national park in San Francisco will remain in the framework.

Pelosi’s donors reportedly sit on a board of a trust that oversees the national park. The Presidio Trust, located in San Francisco, “includes several Democratic donors who have cumulatively given hundreds of thousands of dollars to pro-Pelosi efforts over the years,” Fox News reported.

Pelosi is working with Biden to pass the reconciliation framework into law.

Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammill pushed back against the appearance of a conflict of interest. Hammill said the $200,000 million is required “to bolster the Presidio Trust, which can be used to immediately tackle deferred maintenance needs as well as continue the rehabilitation of the remaining historic buildings.”

“These costs are necessary for the park’s upkeep,” Hammill continued. “In contrast, House Republicans have repeatedly voted to gut funding for public lands and public spaces, as recently as today: voting in the same markup to cut funding for public lands and public spaces from other amendments.”

Fox News reported many of the board members have donated to Pelosi’s campaign in the past, including Lynne Benioff, the chair of the trust:

Over $69,000 of Benioff’s donations have gone to the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund and $10,400 has gone to Pelosi’s campaign.

Additionally, George Marcus — another trust board member — has given Democrat campaigns and candidates a total of $33.6 million, with a cumulative $723,000 going specifically to Pelosi’s campaign and the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund.

Marcus gave Pelosi’s campaign $50,700 going back to 1988 and has donated a lifetime total of $672,300 to the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund.

A search of Biden’s $1.85 trillion Build Back Better framework reveals no mention of the $200,000 million earmark to “Presidio Trust.” In addition, no mention of a “park” or “national park” was made in the document. It should be noted the framework is not legislative text and does not include many specifics.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø