The National Park Service is feeling the ripple effects of recent changes as well. An employee was set to travel for road maintenance oversight at a national monument when the new directive took effect on February 20. “Unless I decide to cover the costs myself, I can’t go. I can’t afford my hotel, my rental car, or the gas. Now, I’m unable to fulfill my duties,” the employee states. “Instead of concentrating on other tasks, I’m juggling three different scenarios on how to proceed. Should I go? Should I notify my engineering team to delay? If so, when should I do that? This project is now in limbo.”
A memo circulated among National Park Service staff indicated that “all travel NOT associated with national security, public safety, or immigration enforcement should be canceled for trips starting on Wednesday, February 26, through the end of March 2025.” A final decision regarding the travel policy would be made “at a later date.” While some NPS employees were able to travel in February without official authorization, they’ve since been informed that no travel will be permitted in March. So far, around 75 trips have either been canceled or postponed, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The National Park Service has not responded to WIRED’s request for comment.
Some government employees report having received a warning before the policy change was announced on February 20. “We rushed to buy cases and cases of toilet paper that night,” another current NPS employee reveals. “It’s widely understood that things are about to break down.”
That employee is part of the Pacific West Region, which oversees federal land in California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada, along with parks in Arizona, Montana, Guam, and American Samoa. Although the GSA has allowed for exceptions to the spending restrictions, the employee claims there are only four purchase cards with limits exceeding $1 for the entire region.
Certain parks utilize purchase cards to cover services like internet and wireless, leaving staff anxious about whether their work devices will soon be disconnected. “In order to fix a restroom, there must be a work order submitted electronically,” the employee explains. “Like any organization, we depend on email, Teams, and chat for our operations.”
These limits on spending reflect Musk’s approach to zero-based budgeting. Following his acquisition of Twitter, he drastically reduced the budget to zero, compelling employees to account for each expense. He also paused the use of corporate credit cards.
“During the payment freeze at Twitter, we found ourselves in a meeting at 1 am on a Saturday discussing, ‘Let’s disable the credit cards to see what bounces, and what happens,’” recalled angel investor Jason Calacanis on the All In podcast in February. (Calacanis was a member of Musk’s transition team at Twitter.) “Naturally, we began receiving calls … The ones who reach out first are likely the ones involved in the largest schemes.”
Employees perceive the situation differently. “There are numerous checks in place to prevent fraud,” alleges the current NPS worker. “I genuinely believe the only fraudulent actions happening are those committed by Musk, [Russell] Vought, and [Donald] Trump.”
Kate Knibbs and Aarian Marshall contributed to this reporting.
