Tony Irish, a former associate solicitor for general law at the Interior Department who left government in 2025, told USA TODAY that the effort to capture Americans’ personal data is concerning, especially since the Freedom 250 events are using considerable U.S. government civilian and military resources to put them on.
That includes the use of the National Mall, which is administered by Interior’s National Park Service. Irish describes it as “America’s Town Square.”
“Any use of government money, time or resources to fundraise or influence elections is unlawful,” said Irish, who is now senior counsel for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which supports current and former public employees who seek a higher standard of ethics and integrity within their agencies.