Last year, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem played host to former President Donald Trump at a gala fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, 2020. This year, the governor wants to have another fireworks display, however, the National Park Service (NPS) rejected the state’s request for the event back in March.
At a Rotary Club meeting on Thursday, Noem announced she was planning on suing the Biden administration to get her fireworks display back, the Argus Leader is reporting. Noem is an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden and told the Watertown crowd: “I’m going to file a lawsuit against the administration to get the fireworks back.”
This year, the NPS sent a letter to South Dakota explaining why they were rejecting the request for the fireworks display, citing a number of reasons, including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the risk of wildfires, and the objections of tribal leaders.
Noem is also hoping that a Memorandum of Agreement between NPS and South Dakota put in place before last year’s fireworks for Trump will be upheld this year. She says she will argue that the memorandum was pulled for political reasons.
In a letter to Biden earlier this month, Noem accused the National Parks Service of “reneging” on its 2020 Memorandum of Agreement to allow fireworks to return to Rushmore, KELOLAND reports.
