President Joe Biden is reversing statue-related executive orders put in place by former President Donald Trump.
The White House issued a statement on Friday that revoked the previous administration’s orders to create a “National Garden of American Heroes” and direct the federal government and state-level authorities to prioritize the prosecutions of those who vandalized monuments.
The White House’s statement did not include a comment from the president as to his reasoning for the decision.
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The orders reversed include Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Violence, signed on June 26, Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes, signed on July 3, 2020, and Building the National Garden of American Heroes, signed on Jan. 18.
The National Garden of American Heroes would have included statues of well-known athletes, politicians, and other historical figures and was planned to be open to the public prior to the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.
“In the peace and harmony of this vast outdoor park, visitors will come and learn the amazing stories of some of the greatest Americans who have ever lived,” Trump said in January. “The National Garden will feature a roll call of heroes who deserve honor, recognition, and lasting tribute because of the battles they won, the ideas they championed, the diseases they cured, the lives they saved, the heights they achieved, and the hope they passed down to all of us.”
Trump’s executive order to protect monuments directed the attorney general to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of cases of monument vandalism and directed federal agencies to limit their grants to states that “permit the desecration of monuments.”
“I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues – and combatting recent Criminal Violence. Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country!” Trump tweeted in June.
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The president’s orders came in reaction to the destruction of several statues around the country, particularly those of Confederate officers, following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House and Trump’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
