A proposal to add President Donald J. Trump’s likeness to Mount Rushmore has resurfaced in Washington, reigniting questions about the geological limits of the South Dakota monument and the politics surrounding it. In January, Florida Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna introduced a bill directing the Interior Department to arrange the carving. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared to encourage the idea in a March interview, saying officials “definitely have room.” The National Park Service, which oversees Mount Rushmore, counters that the sculpture is a completed work and that “the carved portion of Mount Rushmore has been thoroughly evaluated, and there are no viable locations left for additional carvings.” Geomechanical engineer Paul Nelson, who helped monitor the memorial’s rock stability, warned that further excavation could activate fractures and potentially cost Abraham Lincoln his nose, calling a new face “extremely difficult, if not impossible.” Robin Borglum Kennedy, granddaughter of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, said altering the monument would betray its intent as “a tribute to the ideals of America, not to any one man.” The push has amplified broader cultural disputes in the Black Hills. Native American groups are already protesting a separate administration plan to build a National Garden of American Heroes nearby, a $40 million project awaiting Senate funding. Tribal advocates say the initiative, sited on land they consider sacred, needs far greater consultation. For now, geological constraints and political headwinds leave Trump’s Mount Rushmore dream firmly in the hypothetical realm.