Executive Order 13978: Building the National Garden of American Heroes
President: Donald J. Trump
Amended the plan for a National Garden of American Heroes, including the selection of a site and figures to be honored.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13978 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 14189 reinstated Executive Order 13978 on January 29, 2025, after EO 14029 had revoked it on May 14, 2021.
What does Executive Order 13978 do?
EO 13978 expanded the plan for a National Garden of American Heroes established by EO 13934. It replaced the earlier suggested statue list with a much longer list of people from public life, science, the arts, sports and other fields, and changed the definition of a historically significant American. The administration presented the park as a response to monument destruction and a celebration of national history; that rationale did not itself establish a completed project. Official source.
The main operational change instructed Interior to identify a suitable site in consultation with the interagency task force and proceed with construction within existing authority or authority Congress might later provide. Naming a project and listing proposed subjects therefore did not settle land availability, construction approvals or funding. The order’s own qualification recognized that presidential direction could not supply every needed statutory power. Official source.
Interior was to fund establishment and maintenance as permitted by appropriations. The chairs of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities were directed toward commissioning statues, consulting their councils and the task force, with a target of one-twelfth of discretionary funds where lawful. An annual public progress report was required until the garden existed and included statues of all listed individuals; this made reporting distinct from the eventual opening of the park. Official source.
Before and after
Before the order
EO 13934 had already created the garden policy and task force in July 2020. Before EO 13978, its listed figures and planning instructions were narrower. The new order amended that existing instrument rather than creating the task force for the first time. Official source.
After the order
The task force’s plan now had an expanded subject list, Interior a construction direction qualified by authority, and the endowments a statue-commissioning target. Biden revoked EO 13978 and related garden policy in May 2021. Trump expressly reinstated EO 13978 through EO 14189 in January 2025. Reinstatement establishes the order’s renewed legal policy status, but does not prove that all statues have been commissioned or a garden has opened. Official source.
EO 14189 expressly reinstated this order.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Interior Secretary | Identify a suitable garden site in consultation with the task force; proceed with lawful construction; provide establishment and maintenance funding. | No fixed site or construction deadline in EO 13978. |
| Interagency Task Force for Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes | Consult on site and statue work; publish progress, public-access preparation and commissioned or installed statue information. | Annual public report until garden includes all listed statues. |
| National Endowment for the Arts Chair / National Council on the Arts | Consult and target discretionary resources toward commissioning listed statues. | One-twelfth spending target subject to law; no fixed commissioning deadline. |
| National Endowment for the Humanities Chair / National Council on the Humanities | Consult and target discretionary resources toward commissioning listed statues. | One-twelfth spending target subject to law; no fixed commissioning deadline. |
What happened next
EO 13978 expands and amends the national-garden plan. Official source
EO 14029 revokes EO 13978. Official source
EO 14189 expressly reinstates EO 13978 as it stood before the revocation. Official source
Legal and source detail
Sources by type
The signed text invokes constitutional and statutory executive authority but repeatedly conditions site development and spending on existing law and available appropriations. It amends EO 13934 by replacing provisions rather than independently granting Interior unlimited land-acquisition power. The statue-spending language is a qualified target, not an appropriation by the President. Later EO 14189’s express reinstatement differs from merely revoking the revoking order; its affirmative language is why the current label must reflect renewed effect. Official source.
Primary and official sources
- EO 14029 — revoked by (opens in a new tab) Order text
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 24, 2026. How we research →
Later primary evidence reviewed September 24, 2026: EO 14029 expressly revoked this order. EO 14189 expressly reinstated this order. Official source 1 · Official source 2. The cited steps do not establish every downstream effect.