White House press secretary Sean Spicer. REUTERS/Carlos Barria President Donald Trump is donating the salary he earned during his first quarter in the White House to the National Park Service, press secretary Sean Spicer announced Monday.

"The president has spoken to counsel and made the decision to donate his first-quarter salary in total to a government entity, and he has chosen this quarter to donate it to the National Park Service," Spicer said during a press briefing.

"The park service has cared for our parks since 1916, and the president is personally proud to contribute the first quarter of his salary to the important mission of the park service, which is preserving our country's national security," he added.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spoke during Monday's press briefing about the work of the department and the park service.

"I am thrilled at the president's decision to donate the check he did today," Zinke said.

He said the money would go toward "the infrastructure on our nation's battlefields." He also said the park service was $229 million behind in deferred maintenance on the nation's 29 battlefields.

The Washington Post reported last month that the Trump administration could slash nearly $2 billion from the Interior Department's budget this year.