Yes, if it's public domain, there's no copyright holder, and it's impossible (and unnecessary) for anybody to license it.
This is about the situation that the US government is not permitted to obtain copyrights for their own work in the US, but there's apparently nothing to stop it being copyrighted in other countries.
This is about the situation that the US government is not permitted to obtain copyrights for their own work in the US, but there's apparently nothing to stop it being copyrighted in other countries.