Budget director: Trump’s military parade could cost up to $30 million
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s military parade will not come cheap.
Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director, estimated Wednesday that the public display of America’s military might that Trump has called for could cost between $10 million and $30 million, and said the government would have to come up with a way to cover the cost.
Funding for the parade was not included in the White House’s 2019 budget request, which was released Monday, because it was a relatively new idea, Mulvaney said at a House Budget Committee hearing Wednesday. He explained that the final cost would be determined by the size, scope and length of the parade.
“We will continue to work with you folks if we decide to continue forward with this initiative,” Mulvaney said. “Of course, you’d have to appropriate funds for it or we would have to find funds that we’ve already appropriated.”
The president has said that he wants to celebrate the armed forces with a spectacle akin to the Bastille Day parade in France.
Stan Collender, a former staff member on the House and Senate budget committees, said that the funding for the parade could be found without a formal budget request by using existing money already in the Department of Defense budget or possibly from the Department of Homeland Security or the National Park Service.
The last such celebration in Washington occurred in the summer 1991 when the end of the relatively brief Persian Gulf War was celebrated with a $12 million victory parade.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said earlier this month that he is working to develop plans to fulfill the president’s request.
“We’re all aware in this country of the president’s affection and respect for the military,” Mattis said. “We have been putting together some options, we will send them up to the White House for decision.”
Some Republicans have been reluctant to endorse a military parade. Last week, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said “confidence is silent and insecurity is loud” and that the United States did not need to show off its power.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., pressed Mulvaney at the hearing on Wednesday about paying for a parade and suggested that holding one is reminiscent of displays of grandeur often seen in authoritarian countries.
But the parade’s potential price tag
WASHINGTON — Breaking his silence about abuse, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s “totally opposed to domestic violence.” He commented amid growing pressure to speak out after allegations that a top White House aide had abused two former wives.
“Everybody knows” his position, Trump said, but “now you hear it.”
The president’s remarks came more than a week after the allegations against former White House staff secretary Rob Porter first became public. Porter resigned a week ago. He has denied the allegations.
Trump had praised Porter, his former staff secretary, on Friday in his first comments about the allegations. And on Saturday, he appeared to cast doubt on the women’s allegations when he tweeted: “Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation.”
The White House’s handling of the Porter situation has engulfed senior West Wing officials, calling into question the decision-making and candor of chief of staff John Kelly and White House counsel Don McGahn.