Mayor says Fourth of July event and weekend protests bankrupted Washington security fund

WASHINGTON» President Donald Trump’s overhauled July Fourth celebration cost the D.C. government $1.7 million, an amount that — combined with police expenses for demonstrations through the weekend — has bankrupted a special fund used to protect the nation’s capital from terrorist threats and provide security at events such as rallies and state funerals.

In a letter to the president on Tuesday, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, warned that the fund has now been depleted and is estimated to be running a $6 million deficit by Sept. 30.

The mayor also noted that the account was never reimbursed for $7.3 million in expenses from Trump’s 2017 inauguration.

Bowser requested that the White House commit to fully reimbursing the fund.

“We ask for your help with ensuring the residents of the District of Columbia are not asked to cover millions of dollars of federal expenses and are able to maintain our high standards of protection for federal events,” she wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chris Rodriguez, director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said the estimated costs for July Fourth were six times as much as in years past and likely would grow as the city continues to tally expenses.

The president’s new Independence Day celebration, called “A Salute to America,” included a speech by Trump at the Lincoln Memorial, flyovers by military aircraft and a display of armored vehicles on the Mall. The changes stoked protests of the president at what is typically an apolitical event.

On Saturday, some of the president’s supporters gathered at a rally on Freedom Plaza organized by right-wing activists. That event also drew a large counterprotest, and hundreds of police officers were deployed to prevent violence.