SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- In President Donald Trump's 2027 budget proposal released Friday, his administration included funding for transforming Alcatraz Island back into a maximum security federal prison. The White House's proposed budget states that President Trump is committed to rebuilding and r estoring Alcatraz "as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility, providing $152 million to cover the first year of project costs." On top of money earmarked for Alcatraz, Trump's budget calls on Congress to allocate $1.7 billion  to the Bureau of Prisons. Re-opening Alcatraz's prison would likely cost over $2 billion, according to the Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). Wiener wrote Friday, "Trump’s idiotic quest to sink $2 billion into ruining a globally popular tourist attraction is the epitome of waste, fraud, and abuse." President Trump sent members of his administration, including then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, to tour Alcatraz in July of 2025. (Watch video of their visit above). Senator Wiener continued, "Last summer, when Trump first floated his deranged idea to destroy Alcatraz (and) turn it into a prison gulag, many dismissed the idea as the rantings of a lunatic. I cautioned at the time that Trump often acts on even his most unhinged musings. Just ask Iran, Venezuela, the White House east wing or the people of Minneapolis. We’re not going to let him turn Alcatraz into his newest gulag." Alcatraz (Photo by John S. Lander/LightRocket via Getty Images) Alcatraz Island, also know as "the Rock," was once a fort, a military prison, and a maximum security federal penitentiary. The prison off the coast of San Francisco is where the government sent notorious gangsters, including Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Because of high costs it took to operate on the tiny island, the notorious prison closed more than 60 years ago, in 1963. According to the Bureau of Prisons, federal officials realized it would be much less expensive to simply build a new prison elsewhere. "Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison," BOP stated. Alcatraz Island is pictured on Sunday, May 4, 2025, in the San Francisco Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Today, it's one of the most popular national park tourist sites in America with 1.2 million visitors a year. The National Park Service oversees Alcatraz Island as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Friday, "Alcatraz 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. I will work with my colleagues in the Congress to use every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to block this lunacy." The president’s annual budget is considered a reflection of the administration’s values and does not carry the force of law. The massive document typically highlights an administration’s priorities, but Congress, which handles federal spending issues, is free to reject it. In 2025, Trump said he ordered federal officials to move forward with plans to rebuild, enlarge and reopen Alcatraz "to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders." "When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be," Trump wrote. The Associated Press contributed to this report. ...read more read less