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President Donald Trump\u2019s budget request has re-ignited talk of re-opening Alcatraz Island as a\u00a0prison.<\/p>\n
Anna Connors\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014 President Donald Trump is seeking $152 million to\u00a0kick-start his plan to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison.<\/p>\n
The request to Congress was buried in the 2027 budget proposal<\/a> that Trump released on Friday. The document \u201caffirms the President\u2019s commitment to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility\u201d and includes money to \u201ccover the first year of project costs,\u201d but provides no further details about how the $152 million would be used.<\/p>\n The White House referred questions to the Office of Management and Budget, which shared a 2025 social media post<\/a> in which Trump called to reopen the former maximum security prison \u201cto house America\u2019s most ruthless and violent Offenders\u201d and \u201cserve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Alcatraz funding is a tiny item in Trump\u2019s overall budget plan, which also proposes a $500 billion boost to defense spending<\/a> while cutting domestic programs by 10%. Congress, still fighting over fully funding the government<\/a> in the current fiscal year, would have to approve those changes.<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement that Trump\u2019s proposed budget would \u201cfurther ignite the American dream,\u201d but a spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether he supports rebuilding Alcatraz. Neither did a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n It would almost certainly face fierce opposition from Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco\u2019s longtime member of Congress, who said in a statement that she would \u201cuse every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to block this lunacy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to the intelligence of the American people,\u201d she said. \u201cAlcatraz is a historic museum that belongs to the public, and San Franciscans will not stand for Washington turning one of our most iconic landmarks into a political prop.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Former Attorney General Pam\u00a0Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum walk on a boat ramp during a visit to Alcatraz Island July 17, 2025.<\/p>\n Stephen Lam\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n The project\u2019s inclusion in the president\u2019s budget nevertheless confirms that Trump remains on board with a\u00a0long shot venture that had appeared to fade from interest.<\/p>\n Trump\u00a0first suggested reinstating Alcatraz<\/a>, which operated as a federal penitentiary from 1933 to 1963, last May\u00a0\u2014\u00a0possibly after watching the 1979 Clint Eastwood film<\/a> \u201cEscape from Alcatraz.\u201d<\/p>\n Then in July, Trump administration officials, including then-Attorney General Pam\u00a0Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, visited San Francisco to tour the historic site<\/a>, which is a popular tourist attraction operated by the National Park Service.<\/p>\n But the president appeared to move on after that. Aside from suggesting in July that sharks would patrol the waters around Alcatraz, he never publicly discussing a formal plan for reopening the prison, which was shuttered more than 60 years ago<\/a> because it was so expensive to run and vulnerable to escape attempts by inmates.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n