One of President Donald Trump’s signature plans for celebrating the country’s 250th birthday is the “Great American State Fair,” a 16-day showcase on the National Mall meant to feature every state and territory. But days before the event is set to begin, several states have declined to participate. 

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At least eight states—Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Maine, Oregon, Washington, and Pennsylvania—have said they will not take part in the fair, according to statements from state officials or comments to media outlets.

The reasons vary. Some states have cited budget concerns, while others have declined without offering a detailed explanation, even as they pledged to hold their own in-state celebrations.

Still, organizers say every state will be represented in some form at the fair. 

“Whether represented by a governor’s office, a tourism board, or a beloved state company or organization, every community will be celebrated, and every American will see themselves in this once-in-a-generation event,” a spokesperson for Freedom 250, a federal taskforce organizing the celebration, said in a statement. 

The fair, organizers say, will “showcase the very best of America” through more than 150 exhibits put on by the 56 states and territories. Trump has described the fair—which will begin on June 25—as “an enormous year-long nationwide celebration of our heritage.” Another planned event—a UFC fight on the White House grounds—has caused controversy.  

Here is what to know about the states that have opted out.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s office confirmed to TIME that the state would not be attending, but declined to provide a reason for the decision. 

Healey, a Democrat and frequent critic of Trump, has expressed frustration with the President’s handling of the anniversary celebrations, particularly the expectation that states pay to participate. 

In an interview with Boston Public Radio, Healey said Trump is “too busy with his Great American State Fair down there that everybody’s bailing on… He invited all the states to participate and wants to charge us—charge us!—to put something on his exhibit, whatever he’s creating for Freedom 250. It’s just ridiculous. This is taxpayer money.”

Oregon

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek's office told KATU, an ABC affiliate, in a statement that the state withdrew due to “the cost of participating in the Fair and growing concerns that the event in Washington, D.C. is shaping up to be a more partisan affair than originally presented."

Though like other states, Oregon plans to host its own celebrations for the country’s birthday.

"The Governor will still be proudly celebrating America's semiquincentennial here in Oregon and is looking forward to all of the great exhibitions and events the America 250 Oregon Commission will be planning through the summer and beyond," the statement continued.

North Carolina

North Carolina has also opted out, citing cost concerns. 

The state would have had to spend $100,000 to put on an exhibition on the National Mall, and the state “decided early in the process that we do not have the capacity to participate,” Michele Walker, a communications director for the state, said in an email to NOTUS. 

"Our limited resources are focused on America 250 events across North Carolina, including one at the State Capitol in Raleigh on July 4," Walker said to several outlets.

Connecticut

Connecticut officials similarly said that the state chose to focus its resources on its own local celebrations. 

"Connecticut’s decision to decline participation in the Great American State Fair came down to resources," Cathryn Vaulman, director of communications for Gov. Ned Lamont, said in a statement to USA Today. "The federal government has asked states to foot the bill to participate, including staffing a multiweek exhibition."

Illinois

Illinois officials told CNN that they had declined an invitation to participate in the state fair. But Illinois is still expected to have a presence at the fair through the Peoria Riverfront Museum, which will represent the state.

“State funds were not used to pay for the Museum’s travel, registration, or exhibit design and giveaways,” Jayette Bolinski, the communications director for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, told the outlet. 

The state does not know why or how the Peoria Riverfront Museum was chosen by Freedom 250 to represent Illinois in the fair, according to Natalie Boscia, the vice president of PR for Enjoy Illinois, the official platform of the Illinois Office of Tourism. 

Maine, Pennsylvania, and Washington 

Maine reportedly said to NOTUS it won’t be sending a delegation to the fair, without offering an explanation. Pennsylvania officials told The New York Times the state would not participate, and CNN reported officials from Washington said the same. 

A surveillance law that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect the communications of foreign targets abroad without a warrant is set to expire at midnight on Friday, prompting warnings from current and former officials that a lapse could endanger national security.

The immediate effect of allowing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to expire would be limited. That’s because a judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court renewed the government’s surveillance certifications in March, allowing intelligence agencies to continue using the authority until March 2027. 

But supporters of the law say a lapse risks creating uncertainty for the government and the companies it relies on to provide information. If Congress has not renewed the law by 2027, they argue, the government could lose access to one of its most important intelligence-gathering tools.

Critics, however, contend that the warnings overstate the immediate risk and obscure the reason the law has become so politically contentious: Section 702 is aimed at foreign targets abroad, but it has been used to search Americans’ communications collected in the course of that surveillance.

Why are officials calling for Section 702 to be extended?  

Glenn Gerstell, a former general counsel of the National Security Agency (NSA), tells TIME the risk of a lapse should not be dismissed. Crucially, he explains, the intelligence acquired through Section 702 makes up roughly 70% of the President's daily brief. 

“In other words, it covers everything from sanctions evaders, to narco-terrorists, to ISIS terrorists, to what Iran might be up to, North Korea, etc,” he says during a phone interview. “So it's probably the critical national security tool. So if it lapses, it stands to reason that we'd be worried about what we're missing.”

Technology companies would also become more reluctant to comply with government requests, he argues, in particular if they fear violating privacy agreements or being sued. This resistance, he says, could slow the collection of intelligence and create gaps.  

“[Companies] want to make sure that they're not going to get sued if they go ahead and comply with a court order,” he explains. “The question is, what are we going to be missing in that period of time—during the time of litigation, whether it's three days or six weeks … it only takes one small piece of information about a terrorist plot or a sanctions evader or a North Korean missile to have a potentially profound effect on national security.” 

Republican lawmakers have also issued similar warnings.

Secretary of State Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Democrats on Monday to support an extension, with Rubio warning that allowing the spy powers to lapse would be “devastating to our national security.” 

In a letter to Rubio, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas urged the Secretary of State to “plan for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection” if Section 702 expired. 

“Letting 702 lapse is a real gamble that we can’t afford to take,” Grassley said while speaking on the Senate floor on Monday. “Let’s be very clear: if Section 702 lapses, our adversaries will benefit greatly, and Americans will suffer.”

A White House official told TIME in a statement on Wednesday that “the Administration always recognized this would be a complex issue which is why negotiations continue with Congressional Members to find long-term consensus.”

“The Administration strongly supports full reauthorization to allow us to gather foreign intelligence, and protects our country from malign actors,” the official added.

A group of former intelligence officials, which included Gerstell, earlier called on Congress to reauthorize the law.

"We cannot afford to let our Intelligence Community lose this tool that helps keep our nation safe, even for a day,” the group wrote in April. 

Why lawmakers want Section 702 reformed

But critics of Section 702 say the warnings overstate the immediate threat because the current certifications will remain in effect until 2027. They have pushed for Congress to use the coming months to impose new limits on the program, including a requirement for the government to acquire warrants before accessing Americans’ communications incidentally collected through the surveillance program. 

The current process for FBI searches of Section 702 data using U.S.-person query terms requires internal approval, and two rounds of internal audits would follow, according to a watchdog report. Although Section 702 prohibits direct spying on Americans, some communications between U.S. citizens and foreigners will be incidentally collected, which the FBI is allowed to retain and later look into. Some lawmakers have argued that the internal signoffs are not enough to place a check on the executive branch’s power. 

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“Congress should not give Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and Kash Patel unchecked power to spy on Americans,” said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois in April about the President, the White House deputy chief of staff, and FBI director, further accusing the government of using Section 702 “as a back door for warrantless spying on Americans here at home.” 

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon stated in a “Dear Colleague” letter also from April that Section 702 “must be reformed to better protect Americans’ Constitutional rights and include new safeguards against abuse before it is renewed.”

“At a time when our democracy is under tremendous threat, we owe it to our constituents to have a real, open debate about surveillance authorities that directly affect both their security and their fundamental freedoms,” he wrote. “And we should not exclude Americans from that debate.”

Proponents of an extension are pushing it “based on this specter that Section 702 will go dark,” Elizabeth Goitein, an expert on national security and a senior director at the Brennan Center, tells TIME, noting “the law is clear that the certifications remain in effect even if the underlying statute lapses,” which, she contends, gives ample time to implement reforms that prevent the government from accessing Americans’ data without warrants.

“No government official should have warrantless access to Americans' private communications,” she argues. “The potential for abuse is simply too great.”

-Philip Wang contributed reporting.

The Pentagon has lifted “precautionary safety measures” that it implemented Thursday morning, including a shelter-in-place order for parts of the complex, after determining that the reported “hazardous materials incident” that prompted the response was a false alarm.

“Earlier this morning, Pentagon occupants were notified of a potential air quality issue, prompting immediate precautionary safety measures and evaluation. Subsequent testing confirmed no hazard exists, and normal operations have resumed,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on X at 1:31 p.m. ET, just under three hours after emergency response units reported that they were responding to the incident. “We express our sincere appreciation to the first responders for their swift actions to ensure the safety of all personnel.”

Earlier on Thursday, Parnell told TIME in a statement that the department was following protocols and enforcing a shelter-in-place order, among other measures, in response to the detection of the “air quality issue.”

"The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Those systems have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance,” Parnell said. “The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area. Response teams are in place and ready to support building occupants." 

The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) posted on X at 10:41 a.m. that it was responding to the incident. 

“ACFD units, including our Hazardous Materials Team, are currently operating at the Pentagon,” the department wrote, noting that they were working in conjunction with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) Hazmat Team in response to a “hazardous materials incident.”

At 12:24 p.m., the PFPA wrote on X that the “shelter in place continues in affected areas in the Pentagon until all clear is given.”

Sources familiar with the matter told CNN Thursday morning that multiple floors and corridors at the Pentagon had been locked down, including floors two through five in the fourth through the seventh corridors. Others were being evacuated and police in the building were wearing full chemical protective gear and gas masks, sources told the outlet. 

CNN also reported that the Pentagon’s security team issued a message that said additional testing was needed following the detection of the “air quality issue.”  

“This additional testing could take one to two hours. Response teams are in place and ready to support building occupants if necessary. You may observe response personnel from multiple agencies and precautionary measures taking place in the center courtyard. Please do not interpret these activities,” said the message, according to CNN.