Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026 | 2 a.m.
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., is highlighting the Trump administration’s impact on Nevada’s tourism-dependent small businesses at this year’s State of the Union, bringing the owner of the Stargazer Inn in Baker to the address Tuesday night.
Baker serves as a gateway to Great Basin National Park, which has over 140,000 visitors a year, and Elizabeth Woolsey’s inn and general store is one of its most prominent spots to rest and refuel.
In 2024, the park had one of its best years ever in terms of visitation, according to the National Park Service. However, Woolsey believes that the number declined last year alongside Las Vegas’ 7.5% drop in visitation. She says President Donald Trump’s policies are to blame.
International travelers “have not been making reservations,” said Woolsey, also a member of White Pine County’s tourism board. “In our county, there’s been an about 7% decrease in visitation, and I think it’s just going to get worse because the ripple effect has started.”
Cortez Masto said Woolsey is just one example of a Nevadan hurt by federal policies, noting that she recently spoke with a Las Vegas business owner who now has to shut their doors because of depressed tourism. The senator said the Trump administration’s tariffs, rhetoric and new requirements for overseas travelers entering the country have contributed to that decline.
“In 2025, tourism grew worldwide,” Cortez Masto said. “The only major tourism destination in the world to see a decline in foreign visitation was the United States, and that was because of the policies of this administration.”
The number of international travelers seeing the country’s political climate as a deterrent rose 11% since Trump retook the White House, Cortez Masto said, citing a Brand USA study.
Besides increased travel costs, Woolsey said increased park entry prices for international visitors and feeling unwelcome are pushing overseas tourists away.
“We always make them feel welcome, but maybe, just because of the news, they’re just feeling a little bit of trepidation (about) coming down and coming to see the national parks and touring America,” Woolsey said.
The country’s relationship with Canada became increasingly fraught last year following tariffs and threats of annexation. Despite the Supreme Court ruling Friday against some tariffs declared under an emergency powers law, Trump has pursued alternative options.
Canadians now see the United States as a larger threat to peace than Russia, according to a new poll from POLITICO.
During a bipartisan delegation to the country, Cortez Masto said that legal counsel to one of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet members told her that, while they typically held their legal conference each year in Las Vegas, they moved it because of the administration’s rhetoric.
And locally, Woolsey said the conversation among local business owners who serve tourists is “pretty scary.”
“Where we are, when you travel from Las Vegas, you’re going to pass through other rural towns. So, you might stop to eat and get gas and maybe stay overnight and experience a state park,” she said. “Those businesses and agencies are also suffering, because if you’re not traveling across the state, you’re not going to those other towns.”
Woolsey also highlighted the administration’s relationship with the National Park Service. In the administration’s opening weeks, the Association of National Park Rangers tracked 759 firings across the country’s national parks, according to Outside Magazine.
Five people were fired from Great Basin National Park, according to the magazine. Those cuts create reduced services and fewer tourists, directly impacting small businesses that rely on visitation, Woolsey said.
“I’m very honored to be here and represent our community and our businesses, but I think it’s also really important for everyone to use their voice and speak to their senators, congressmen (and) congresswomen to let them know that this administration is hurting the economy,” she said.
U.S. Sen Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., will be bringing Vania Carter-Strauss, a nurse and fellow small business owner, to Trump’s address. However, a growing number of Democrats have opted out of the event in protest, some opting for their own counterprogramming.
Cortez Masto said she understood why some of her colleagues would skip the event, pointing to Trump’s rhetoric around allies and immigration.
“But I think the best way to combat his speech is, one, to invite Liz … a Nevadan who stands, I believe, as a testament to the truth about his lies, and I want to be able to be there to hear what he says and directly challenge those lies,” Cortez Masto said.
