Next Year Is America’s 250th Birthday. Meet The Person Behind The Celebration.

As people around the world prepare to ring in the new year Wednesday night, the iconic Times Square ball will sparkle with a special red, white and blue design and, for the first time, a second wave of confetti will launch at midnight, marking America’s semiquincentennial year.

Many more events, gatherings and celebrations are planned ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th.

At the center of those preparations is Rosie Rios, a former U.S. treasurer under President Barack Obama who has led the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission since 2022. Rios has worked closely with Cabinet officials including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Education Secretary Linda McMahon to roll out nationwide programming such as Our American Story, an oral history project, and America Gives, an initiative to encourage volunteerism.

Rios, 60, was appointed by former President Joe Biden to lead the bipartisan commission, which includes 16 private citizens and eight members of Congress appointed in equal numbers by House and Senate leaders of both parties, alongside ex-officio agency heads and other government officials. There are conservative Republicans like Kellyanne Conway and liberal Democrats like Jack Schlossberg.

The commission is separate from but coordinating closely with a White House task force established by President Donald Trump to plan celebrations marking the nation’s 250th birthday. Congress allocated $150 million for all semi-quincentential festivities through the GOP megabill, which Trump signed this summer, and the president is also raising money through a new organization called Freedom250.

Rios sat down with POLITICO over breakfast at The Hay-Adams hotel to discuss her approach to leading the commission.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

You’ve attended bicentennial events. What lessons are you carrying from 1976?

It was a very local kind of community-driven feeling versus a memory. We did a field trip to the Oakland train station to see the Freedom Train.

More than anything, I remember July 4, 1976. It was a cloudy night in California, but never brighter. And it was the feeling of gratitude for my mom, who raised us as a single parent and sent all nine of us off to college. To think that feeling I had — that this was the land of opportunity — that is my intention for 2026.

You’re a rare Democrat-appointed leader who hasn’t been removed under President Trump. How have you managed that?

Four words: no politics, just purpose. That’s the secret sauce. This is my fifth administration. So it’s working the way Congress intended it to work: to be bipartisan, to represent all three branches of government in a way that allows all of them to participate.

How have you been engaged with the White House since Trump took office in January?

The executive order was priority number one. I met with Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley right after the new year, and on day 10 of the administration, Trump issued Task Force 250, mobilizing all federal agencies to begin their planning efforts.

We entered into an MOU with the White House task force right away. Brittany Baldwin has been our liaison, and she’s been invited to every commission meeting since March. I’m grateful for their participation. There’s no way we can reach 350 million Americans on our own, and we shouldn’t be doing it on our own.

In addition to planning programs, you’ve pushed states to create their own commissions and helped build the largest congressional caucus in history. Why was that important?

This has to be sea to shining sea. Every American should feel this is their commemoration at the local and grassroots level. We want to empower the states — because I can’t tell their stories.

Every state has its own history and narrative. In 1776, Alaska was Russian, Hawaii was its own kingdom, California was Spanish or Mexican, and the Louisiana Purchase doubled our footprint. This ‘nation of nations’ concept is very real.

You often say “350 for 250” because you want to engage 350 million Americans next year.  Are you concerned that Trump’s immigration policies run counter to your goal of engaging as many people as possible?

Our legislative mandate is to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We can’t be all things to all Americans, but we do have something for every American. That’s the only way this playbook works – by staying focused.

The commission fired executive director Ariel Aberger in September, and the White House later withdrew another executive director nominee. Do you plan to operate without one?

We’re open to a process [to have another executive director], but we also have a very strong leadership team in place, so I’m not worried one way or the other.

When all is said and done, what do you want Americans to feel coming out of this?

I am the biggest patriot out there, and I’m not ashamed to say that. I strongly believe you can love your country and still want it to be more perfect, exactly as our founding fathers envisioned.