2 months ago
7
President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to host a military parade in Washington, DC on June 14, marking both the 250th anniversary of the US Army as well as his 79th birthday.
A DC source with knowledge of the plans, which are still under development, told the Washington City Paper that Trump wants the June 14 parade to stretch from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia to the White House in DC. The source said that local officials were just learning of the plans.
Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said that no formal assistance request has been made to the county and that the county had been given a "heads up" about the parade plans on Friday by the White House, though no firm details were included.
Karantonis told the outlet, "It’s not clear to me what the scope of a parade would be. But I would hope the federal government remains sensitive to the pain and concerns of numerous [military] veteran residents who have lost or might lose their jobs in recent federal decisions, as they reflect on how best to celebrate the Army’s anniversary."
In 2018, Trump had wanted to host such a parade through the streets of DC, but the plans were canceled after military leaders said that the parade would cost $92 million and DC officials complained that the streets would be damaged by heavy military equipment like tanks and planes, and that it would cost $21 million for parade public safety alone.
Several local officials have cautioned that a parade of this scale would take lots of coordination between the six military branches, and there are just under 10 weeks until June 14. Coordination is also needed between local, regional, and federal officials and agencies.
A DC official told the outlet that shutting down streets and bridges in the city as well as impacts on the city’s bus and rail lines are all taken into consideration. "We’d have to make sure everything is safe," the official said.
English (US) ·