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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Army estimates that Trump's military parade could cost $16 million in damage to Washington streets
The cost to repair Washington, D.C., streets after the upcoming military parade celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary could cost as much as $16 million, according to U.S. military officials. That's part of an estimated $45 million total cost for the June 14 military parade, which coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. The cost estimates have fluctuated as planning continues. In an interview with NBC News' 'Meet the Press' earlier this month, the president defended the cost of the parade, calling it 'peanuts compared to the value of doing it.' 'We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we're going to celebrate it,' Trump added. The parade will be part of a massive celebration in downtown Washington that includes a number of events, historical displays and a demonstration by the Army's famous parachute team, the Golden Knights. The parade itself will include about 130 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker armored fighting vehicles and a number of vehicles towing artillery launchers. More than 50 helicopters will also participate in an 'extensive flyover' in the nation's capital. The event will also bring more than 9,000 soldiers from around the country to Washington, about 7,000 of whom will march in the parade itself. The event will also include at least eight Army bands, and some troops will ride on the nearly three dozen horses and two mules expected to march as part of a historical section of the parade. The soldiers visiting Washington for the parade will be housed in government buildings, including the Department of Agriculture building and a General Services Administration building. A few thousand others will bunk at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The troops are expected to eat military rations called meals ready to eat, or MREs, during their stay. Trump had long wanted a military parade during his first term. But it was canceled over concerns about cost and the optics of a military parade in the nation's capital that could be seen as akin to the kind commonly seen in Moscow, Beijing or Pyongyang, North Korea. The inclusion of tanks in a potential parade also drew concerns about what their tracks might do to the streets of Washington. The Army is preparing for the potential harm to Washington streets with several measures it hopes will avert damage. These include using 1-inch-thick steel plates, some as long as 20 feet, at places along the parade route where the tanks must turn and where those turns could cause the most damage to the streets. The addition of the steel plates is expected to cost the Army about $3 million, officials said. The tanks are also being outfitted with new track pads to create separation between the metal track and the ground, the officials said. Army officials said they believe these measures will keep the damage to a minimum and bring the cost of repairing any damage down significantly. 'We are targeting those areas that we have concerns, which primarily are areas where the tracked vehicles are going to have to turn sharply,' said Col. Jesse Curry, the executive officer for the Army Corps of Engineers. 'We are not particularly concerned that this staging area and the routes have been selected to really minimize the risk from weight and damage. But really, those areas where tanks have to turn, particularly the areas where the surface of the pavement, we typically receive an exaggerated level of stress.' The parade route itself will follow Constitution Avenue along the National Mall from 23rd Street to around 15th Street. The roughly 50 aircraft will include Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, including several special operations variants. Also planned to fly are several historic aircraft, including World War II-era B-25s, P-51s and Vietnam-era helicopters. The parade is expected to last roughly 90 minutes and will be broken into eras: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Global War on Terror, the modern Army and the future. The Army's Golden Knights will jump during the presentation about the Army's future and plan to deliver an American flag to Trump. In the early-May 'Meet the Press' interview, Trump defended himself against claims that the military parade was for his birthday, reiterating that the Army's 250th birthday and Flag Day are also on June 14. 'My birthday happens to be on Flag Day,' he said. 'I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday. Somebody put it together. But no, I think we're going to do something on June 14, maybe, or somewhere around there. But I think June 14. It's a very important day.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Army says Trump's military parade could cause $16 million in damage to Washington streets
The cost to repair Washington, D.C., streets after the upcoming military parade celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary could cost as much as $16 million, according to U.S. military officials. That's part of an estimated $45 million total cost for the June 14 military parade, which coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. The cost estimates have fluctuated as planning continues. In an interview with NBC News' 'Meet the Press' earlier this month, the president defended the cost of the parade, calling it 'peanuts compared to the value of doing it.' 'We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we're going to celebrate it,' Trump added. The parade will be part of a massive celebration in downtown Washington that includes a number of events, historical displays and a demonstration by the Army's famous parachute team, the Golden Knights. The parade itself will include about 130 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker armored fighting vehicles and a number of vehicles towing artillery launchers. More than 50 helicopters will also participate in an 'extensive flyover' in the nation's capital. The event will also bring more than 9,000 soldiers from around the country to Washington, about 7,000 of whom will march in the parade itself. The event will also include at least eight Army bands, and some troops will ride on the nearly three dozen horses and two mules expected to march as part of a historical section of the parade. The soldiers visiting Washington for the parade will be housed in government buildings, including the Department of Agriculture building and a General Services Administration building. A few thousand others will bunk at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The troops are expected to eat military rations called meals ready to eat, or MREs, during their stay. Trump had long wanted a military parade during his first term. But it was canceled over concerns about cost and the optics of a military parade in the nation's capital that could be seen as akin to the kind commonly seen in Moscow, Beijing or Pyongyang, North Korea. The inclusion of tanks in a potential parade also drew concerns about what their tracks might do to the streets of Washington. The Army is preparing for the potential harm to Washington streets with several measures it hopes will avert damage. These include using 1-inch-thick steel plates, some as long as 20 feet, at places along the parade route where the tanks must turn and where those turns could cause the most damage to the streets. The addition of the steel plates is expected to cost the Army about $3 million, officials said. The tanks are also being outfitted with new track pads to create separation between the metal track and the ground, the officials said. Army officials said they believe these measures will keep the damage to a minimum and bring the cost of repairing any damage down significantly. 'We are targeting those areas that we have concerns, which primarily are areas where the tracked vehicles are going to have to turn sharply,' said Col. Jesse Curry, the executive officer for the Army Corps of Engineers. 'We are not particularly concerned that this staging area and the routes have been selected to really minimize the risk from weight and damage. But really, those areas where tanks have to turn, particularly the areas where the surface of the pavement, we typically receive an exaggerated level of stress.' The parade route itself will follow Constitution Avenue along the National Mall from 23rd Street to around 15th Street. The roughly 50 aircraft will include Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, including several special operations variants. Also planned to fly are several historic aircraft, including World War II-era B-25s, P-51s and Vietnam-era helicopters. The parade is expected to last roughly 90 minutes and will be broken into eras: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Global War on Terror, the modern Army and the future. The Army's Golden Knights will jump during the presentation about the Army's future and plan to deliver an American flag to Trump. In the early-May 'Meet the Press' interview, Trump defended himself against claims that the military parade was for his birthday, reiterating that the Army's 250th birthday and Flag Day are also on June 14. 'My birthday happens to be on Flag Day,' he said. 'I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday. Somebody put it together. But no, I think we're going to do something on June 14, maybe, or somewhere around there. But I think June 14. It's a very important day.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trump Is Turning The Border Into A Military Base. Here's What I Learned From A U.S. Army Tour.
EL PASO, Texas — The armored military vehicles President Donald Trump has sent to the U.S.-Mexico border weigh 50,000 pounds apiece and have thermal and infrared cameras said to be able to spot 'a little mouse up to a mile out.' That feature might appeal to Trump, who has referred to people who cross the border without authorization as 'rats' who 'infest' the nation. Last week, when a soldier emerged from one of the hulking eight-wheelers, armed with a pair of binoculars and a grimace, he briefly turned his attention away from the U.S.-Mexico border. He turned over his left shoulder, looking inward at the United States — and at me. He was one of the approximately 10,000 members of the U.S. military who are now stationed at the border, many of whom now patrol areas where, according to the president, they have the authority to detain civilians. Over the last few weeks, Trump has directed the military to take control of thousands of acres of land along the border in Texasand New Mexico, treating nearly 250 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border as de facto military installations known as 'National Defense Areas.' As a result, people who cross the border in these areas are now not only susceptible to charges of illegal entry but also of trespassing on a military installation. This escalation also purportedly gives soldiers the legal authority to detain civilians for trespassing. In short: Trump has issued a hugely significant order for troops to detain people for civilian criminal violations on American soil. At the U.S.-Mexico border last week, I saw what a national military police force might look like. On top of increased air surveillance and logistical support, there are now at least three massive, armored Stryker vehicles each in Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The Strykers themselves aren't armed, but the soldiers within them carry rifles, as do others along the border. (About 50 such vehicles arrived at the border in April; it's unclear how many are in use.) Four other journalists and I participated in a U.S. Army tour last week, being shepherded around the borderlands in a sprinter van. Beginning at Fort Bliss, we first drove through downtown El Paso, Texas, to the bollard fence that marks many urban borders with Mexico. We passed through the gate, going south, and our van lurched between sandy potholes until we stopped underneath the Bridge of the Americas. For the first time in American history, soldiers have purportedly been given the authority to detain people in the New Mexico and west Texas borderlands on the grounds that they are trespassing on a military base. Though the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act restricts the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, a loophole known as the military purpose doctrine allows exceptions where soldiers are working to further a primarily military function, like guarding a military base. Trump's recent orders take advantage of this loophole. You might be able to spot the circular logic. The hundreds of miles of new 'military installations' along the border have provided the grounds for hundreds of trespassing charges, and potentially thousands more in the future. The purpose of those charges is to protect the military bases. Those bases, according to the military, are part of an overall effort to 'seal the southern border and repel illegal activity,' as well as 'denying illegal activity along the southern border.' But the trespassing charges now central to that effort would not be legal if the bases didn't exist. According to the military, these new National Defense Areas range from 60 feet to over 3 miles deep, though the Army has not released maps to make their exact dimensions clear. Analyzing land transfer data earlier this month, a spokesperson for Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) told SourceNM the border militarization scheme has serious implications for anyone driving along New Mexico State Road 9 'who might pull over to stretch their legs and unwittingly trespass on a military base.' Dozens of migrants have already pleaded guilty to the new trespassing charges. But many others have seen their charges dismissed, with a federal judge saying earlier this month there was no reason to believe they even knew they were stepping onto a military mission. At least so far, the arrests have been carried out by Border Patrol agents, not soldiers. But that could change, especially if the number of unauthorized border crossings ticks up as temperatures cool in the fall. Also, so far, it appears no U.S. citizens have been charged with trespassing on the border installations — but there's nothing in the legal authorities cited by the Trump administration that would preclude that. These developments are just the latest in decades of border militarization. The United States, under presidents of both parties, has built hundreds of miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent decades. The Border Patrol recently celebrated its 100th birthday, and especially since Sept. 11, 2001, border enforcement has grown more and more aggressive, featuring high-tech surveillance equipment and thousands of armed agents, the presence of whom — especially as recent presidents have attacked asylum rights along the border — tends to push people into isolated, barren parts of the desert. In recentyears, members of the military have served in a support capacity along the border, helping with logistical tasks and surveillance. Still, Trump has accelerated this trend in his second term. Now, there are 10,000 soldiers along the border as part of the federal mission, up from 2,500 in January. And the threat of trespassing charges is palpable. Veteran border journalist Todd Miller wrote this month that on a recent trip to attempt to take photos of the new Defense Department signage, he noticed a camera system on an unmarked truck that appeared to be tracking his movements. 'What if I had missed the No Trespassing sign?' Miller wrote. 'Things began to feel creepy.' Someone exited the truck. Miller turned around. Last Thursday, I felt a similar chill when the soldier trained his binoculars on me. Was he just hamming it up for a scheduled media tour? Maybe so. But what about the thousands of Americans who live walking distance to a border National Defense Area? And what if Trump, as is expected, keeps expanding these National Defense Areas across the entire southern border? What if he starts declaring them throughout the country? Concertina wire glistened near my fingertips. The mid-May temperature crept toward 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Sweat soaked through my clothes. Pointing to the Rio Grande, I tried a joke on an Army public affairs officer, referring to the soldier with the binoculars. 'You should tell him the border is that way.' The officer didn't respond. The soldier with the binoculars dipped back inside his air-conditioned vehicle. We left, driving back under the Bridge of the Americas, waiting as a public affairs officer punched in a code that engaged a motor and opened the gates into the United States, then taking the highway to New Mexico. At the start of our four-hour tour, the three Army spokespeople tasked with escorting our group to various points along the border quickly tempered expectations. As a condition for the trip, they were not to be named or quoted, they said. The answers to some questions were self-evident. Earlier this month, for example, a federal magistrate judge dismissed trespassing charges against nearly 100 defendants who allegedly crossed the border into a National Defense Area, ruling 'the United States provides no facts from which one could reasonably conclude that the Defendant knew he was entering the [New Mexico National Defense Area].' From what I saw, that was a fair ruling. The signs warning border-crossers in English and Spanish that they were standing on military property appeared at 100-meter increments, on signposts driven into the desert sand. They're just over a foot wide and use a half-inch font, and were often positioned 30 feet or more inland from the portions of the border wall I saw. It's easy to imagine migrants standing on Mexican soil not even noticing the signs, let alone being able to make out what they say. Many questions remain unanswered. Here are a few I sent in an email this week to the U.S. Army, which has not responded: What are the rules of engagement for soldiers? When can they use lethal force? Are soldiers allowed to carry pepper spray, tear gas, 'less-than-lethal' ammunition, and/or similar arms? Do soldiers working in the National Defense Areas receive any border-specific training? Any training in crowd control or arrests? Have they trained with Border Patrol at all? Is the military authorized to do vehicle chases if someone crosses into an NDA and then flees? What about soldiers operating out of Customs and Border Protection vehicles? Can the military detain people overnight? Has that happened? Have any U.S. citizens been detained for trespassing on an NDA? 'As with any military installation, this land is under Department of Defense administrative jurisdiction,' Geoffrey A. Carmichael, a public affairs major with the U.S. Army, told HuffPost in an earlier statement, before I sent the above questions. 'This includes the authority to prevent unauthorized access and to detect and deter potential security threats to maintain security, order, and discipline, which may include apprehending those who enter without authorization. Any person apprehended for trespassing (or committing other criminal offenses) on a military installation, regardless of citizenship, will be transferred over to appropriate non-DoD law enforcement officials as promptly as practical.' Border Patrol operates in 'close proximity to our patrols,' he added, so 'law enforcement execution can be carried out rather quickly.' 'But I want to make it very clear,' Carmichael said. 'Law enforcement is not a DoD responsibility. Law enforcement and adjudication, in addition to what you've seen in reporting recently is the responsibility of CBP and the Department of Justice.' Also among the unanswered questions: Are the soldiers really helping to 'secure' the border? The administration seems to think so. 'If you see guys in camouflage now with binoculars, or in Stryker vehicles with rifles, they have the authority to detain illegals temporarily and assist Border Patrol and hand them over, and now, to be charged by the Department of Justice up to 10 years,' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video update two weeks ago. The numbers of charges, troops, barbed wire, and National Defense Areas would all continue to 'climb,' he said, because, 'we're going to get 100% operational control of the border.' Similar boasts about the military's ability to one-up Border Patrol officers are common in Operation Lone Star, the governor of Texas' parallel (but unrelated) mission to militarize that state's border using Texas National Guard soldiers, state troopers and state trespassing charges. That mission has also been marred by alleged human rights abuses and gratuitous political theater. Still, even before the declaration of National Defense Areas, crossings were already at historic lows, as they began dropping during the Biden administration due to much larger forces. Mexico, under pressure from the U.S., has for years moved aggressively to use its military and law enforcement to keep migrants away from the U.S. border. And both Trump and former President Joe Biden dramatically cracked down on asylum rights on the border, in Biden's case with a numerical cap, and in Trump's by simply declaring border crossings to be an emergency, and eliminating asylum rights almost altogether. As of last Thursday, the Army claimed it had made 190 'detections' since the New Mexico National Defense Area was first established in April — a minuscule number compared with Border Patrol's day-to-day work. Seeing the beefed-up military presence at the border made clear this is about more than 'operational control.' It's also about optics. Dispatching the military looks tough, and Trump loves to look tough. After our sprinter van left El Paso, we made our way west, into New Mexico, passing Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station and continuing until there was nothing around us but endless desert scrub. A surveillance blimp hovered nearby. We turned toward a black line on the horizon, which grew bolder until it became a 20-foot bollard wall. We disembarked onto soft sand a few steps from the wall. The sun glared overhead, and within minutes my phone shut down, overheating and displaying an error screen. Dust clung to my eyes and my boots seemed to sink into the shifting ground. We were only a couple of miles from a port of entry, but I couldn't tell. Later, I would find that the group No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization, had mapped a cluster of recorded human remains in recent years around where we stood. A few feet from an armored Stryker vehicle, a deserted, weathered backpack sat on the ground, contents spilled onto the earth — a toothbrush, ointment, deodorant, a baseball cap. The Stryker vehicle stood motionless atop a sandy hill, seeming to glare at me. This time, no one emerged from the vehicle. Since the Obama administration, many migrants have voluntarily surrendered to border agents after making the grueling trip north, opting to pursue their right to an asylum case in the United States. One major benefit of that route is the opportunity to avoid more trekking through the deadly desert. Now, given the new trespassing charges and the United States' animosity toward the asylum process itself, more people could try to avoid detection altogether. Squinting against the glaring sun and hot sand, I was overwhelmed at the thought. For dozens of migrants arrested out here under the new trespassing charges, the next stop has been local jail. For others, it might be immigration detention. For those trying to escape detection, the journey might continue through the desert, for however long they can survive. Because I happen to have been born in Maryland, the U.S. Army drove me to a gas station, then to a Fort Bliss parking lot. My trip to the border was over. Trump Is Quietly Using The U.S. Military In A Whole New Way Historians Are 'Shocked' By What They've Seen Trump Do In Just 100 Days Trump's Bid To Deport Columbia Activist Mahmoud Khalil Is Likely Unconstitutional, Judge Says Maryland Congressman Denied Access To See Man Wrongly Deported To El Salvador Trump Administration 'Unquestionably' Violated Deportation Order, Judge Says
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
China targets US military members in overseas spy operations, former CIA station chief warns
A former CIA station chief says China has U.S. military service members and government employees in the "crosshairs" of its overseas spy operations. Jian Zhao and Li Tian, both active-duty Army soldiers, were arrested in early March after allegedly selling "Top Secret" information to individuals based in China, according to the Department of Justice. Zhao and Tian were both indicted by federal grand juries in Washington and Oregon. Federal prosecutors allege Tian sold sensitive military information to former soldier Ruoyu Duan, who would allegedly receive money from individuals residing in China. Tian then allegedly received tens of thousands of dollars for selling the sensitive information. Included in the alleged documents Tian sold was a Google Drive link containing classified documents about the Stryker combat vehicle. Tian also allegedly sent additional sensitive data on U.S. weapons systems. Bombshell Report Suggests 'Chinese Spies' Infiltrating Prestigious Us University: 'Widespread Campaign' Prosecutors said the incidents highlight efforts by China to use "cut-outs," known as people trusted by Chinese intelligence services, to gather sensitive information that could help the Chinese government. Those "cut-outs" then recruit individuals with access to or knowledge of U.S. government information, which includes current and former government officials. Read On The Fox News App According to the court documents, security video showed Tian allegedly brought his personal cellphone into a classified area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington in May 2024, printed a classified document and left with it. He would allegedly return over three hours later with the document. Prosecutors also alleged that Tian took screenshots of sensitive information on several occasions. In a connected case at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Zhao allegedly sold classified information to an unnamed co-conspirator. According to federal prosecutors, Zhao received at least $15,000 for the documents. Zhao allegedly sold 20 military hard drives to an individual in China, some containing a "Secret" label. Zaho allegedly conspired to sell information related to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System as well as information related to U.S. military readiness if there was a war with China. "While bribery and corruption have thrived under China's Communist Party, this behavior cannot be tolerated with our service members who are entrusted with sensitive military information, including national defense information," said FBI Director Kash Patel on the charges. Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital he thinks U.S. military service members as well as government employees are being targeted to take part in these spy operations. Former Us Army Intelligence Analyst Sentenced For Selling Sensitive Documents To Chinese National "I think anybody who serves in the U.S. government is in the crosshairs. And China will do it," Hoffman said. "Sometimes they'll run their recruitment operations posing as someone else. So maybe somebody doesn't want to go spy for China, but they might pretend to be somebody else. Or they might contact you on social media, on LinkedIn or some other site and pose as someone not so nefarious when in fact they are." Hoffman said gaining intel from the U.S. military is one of the Chinese government's "highest requirements." "They want to recruit U.S. military because there's a probability we might go to war with China, and not just U.S. military, but NATO members as well, and throughout Asia. So they've got a massive intelligence apparatus," he said. China isn't just targeting the U.S. military. It's targeting many other aspects of American society as well, including academia. Five former University of Michigan students were charged in October 2024 after they were allegedly caught spying on a National Guard training center for the Chinese government during a training session with the Taiwanese military. The former University of Michigan students were confronted by a Utah National Guard sergeant major in August 2023 near a lake at Camp Grayling in Michigan. Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute focusing on U.S. and China relations, told Fox News Digital the Chinese Communist Party "will exercise whatever tactics they feel they need to by hook or crook to get our military secrets," adding China is "shameless." "This is a tactic that China is exercising in the new Cold War that we're locked in with the Chinese Communist Party. And one of the things that is really striking is the low price that a lot of Americans are willing to sell their patriotism for and their allegiance for. Some of these people didn't get that much money to sell some really sensitive military secrets over to the Chinese Communist Party," Sobolik said. Fox News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this article source: China targets US military members in overseas spy operations, former CIA station chief warns
The Intercept
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Intercept
Expect Trump's Military Parade to Cost More Than the Army Says
President Donald Trump boasted on Monday that his hosting of a military parade in Washington, D.C., next month to honor the Army's 250th anniversary — coincidentally the same date as his 79th birthday — was an act of divine intervention. 'We're going to have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years,' he said during a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery. 'Can you imagine? I missed that four years, and now look what I have, I have everything. Amazing the way things work out. God did that.' The massive military parade and related festivities planned for June 14 will cost an estimated $25 to $45 million, according to the Army. This is likely a significant underestimate due to many expenses that are unaccounted for – or will be billed later, such as damages to local infrastructure caused by armored vehicles. Members of Congress are already expressing outrage at what they see as a gross misuse of funds. 'Trump squandering $45 million in taxpayer dollars on a military parade for his birthday is the epitome of government waste,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. 'If the Trump Administration truly cared about celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army, they would honor past and present soldiers and reinstate the thousands of veterans who they fired from the federal workforce — not throw away millions on an extravagant parade.' The purpose of the parade is also seemingly up for interpretation. The White House now says the parade is a celebration of the Army's semiquincentennial after, last month, denying reports that a parade would be held on the president's birthday. Trump, for his part, has offered shifting explanations, stating that the parade is a celebration of Flag Day, the military writ large, or tanks and other weaponry. The current plan, nonetheless, involves a martial spectacle reminiscent of the Soviet Union or North Korea in the heart of America's capital, with armored vehicles rolling down Constitution Avenue. It is slated to involve more than 100 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored personnel carriers, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, four M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, as well as military relics like World War II-era Sherman tanks, a B-25 bomber, and a P-51 Mustang single-seat fighter plane, according to Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith. She added that the parade will also feature 34 horses, two mules, one wagon, and one dog. 'Join us on June 14th for the U.S. Army's 250th Anniversary Grand Military Parade on the National Mall! Hosted by President Donald Trump,' reads a White House post on X announcing the event, which will also feature 50 helicopters flying overhead, including Apaches, Black Hawks, and tandem-rotor Chinooks. The White House says that Trump will 'deliver remarks celebrating 250 Years of the U.S. Army's exceptional service, significant achievements, and enduring legacy.' Trump previously called the price tag of the parade 'peanuts compared to the value of doing it.' The White House did not respond to questions about the additional costs beyond those cited by the Army. 'This administration does not have a credible history of telling the truth about anything. And so, when they estimate $45 million, you know that's a low-ball figure.' Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., suspects the costs could be markedly higher than the current estimates. 'This administration does not have a credible history of telling the truth about anything. And so, when they estimate $45 million, you know that's a low-ball figure,' he told The Intercept. 'I don't know if it includes transporting the troops from their home stations to Washington or feeding them on that trip.' Cohen brought up other costs from aircraft flyovers — 'How much fuel do they burn up? How much maintenance is required before and after the flight?' — to the construction of stands and viewing platforms on the parade route. The total burden on taxpayers could also soar higher because the federal government is on the hook to fix city streets and other infrastructure torn up by the armored vehicles (each Abrams tank, for instance, weighs almost 70 tons). 'If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,' said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in April, adding that tanks rolling through the city's streets 'would not be good.' The Army says they have this covered — at taxpayer expense. 'As a prevention measure to ensure there are no damages to the roads, one-inch-thick steel plates, varying in size from 4 feet by 8 feet and 8 feet by 20 feet will be placed on the roads at any pivot point and all new rubber tracks will be placed on vehicles,' Heather J. Hagan, an Army spokesperson, told The Intercept. 'The federal government would be responsible for any damages.' Additional expenses, like cleanup and an increased police presence, are also apparently not part of current estimates, although Daniel Gleick, Bowser's press secretary, was unable to provide projected local costs. The sheer number of agencies the Army is working with, however, speaks to the likelihood of wide-ranging additional expenses. 'The Army is coordinating with local law enforcement, National Park Services, District Department of Transportation, Federal Highways Administration, U.S. Park Police, and DC Water, who will assess the roads and bridges,' said Hagan. One major expense of the parade to be borne by taxpayers is the cross-country transport of mammoth military vehicles. The Abrams tanks have, for example, already been loaded onto flatbed railcars at an industrial rail yard facility at Fort Cavazos, Texas, for their long journey toward Washington. The tanks will then be trucked to a staging area near the parade route. The district will also be flooded with close to 7,000 troops. The Army did not want to disclose the locations for force protection reasons, but service members will be housed in the Agriculture Department and General Services Administration buildings, according to Pentagon sources. Contracting materials examined by The Intercept show the Army National Guard is seeking to rent '800 Sleeping Cots in Support of Army 250 Parade in Washington D.C.' 'They're going to sleep on cots. They're going to get cots and MREs,' said Smith, the Army spokesperson, referring to 'meals ready-to-eat,' the military's moniker for rations. Cohen, the Tennessee representative, also referenced the inclusion of large numbers of National Guard members. 'They'll have to take time from their jobs. And are they being paid by the state extra for this time as being in the National Guard? That's another expense,' he said. The Army is also looking into potential lodgings — like hotel rooms or furnished apartments — to house 280 personnel from June 12 to 16 and another 275 personnel from June 13 to 16 near the National Mall. These people will, however, eschew MREs for more sumptuous victuals: a hot breakfast, a bag lunch, and a hot dinner, according to a request for information issued by the Army earlier this month. Smith said she did not have details about this effort. Hagan, the other Army spokesperson, did not have a more granular breakdown of other parade costs. Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Élysées Avenue in Paris on July 14, 2017. Photo: Eliot Blondet/Sipa USA via AP Images Trump has Fixated on military parades for decades — and has repeatedly found himself mired in controversy as a result. When he was merely a real estate developer and New York City gadfly, his involvement with the Nation's Parade, celebrating the Second World War's 50th anniversary in 1995, sullied 'an otherwise positive day,' according to the New York Times. As reporter Robert McFadden observed at the time: 'Many veterans were angry that organizers had agreed to name Mr. Trump, who is not a veteran, as grand marshal in exchange for his contribution of $200,000 and help in raising additional funds.' In 2017, during his first term, Trump watched the Bastille Day parade in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and returned home obsessed with staging his own défilé militaire. Plans for a 2018 parade were postponed after local officials in Washington, D.C., raised concerns about damage to the capital city's streets, the Pentagon tossed up additional roadblocks, and public reports of the estimated $92 million price tag caused the White House to retreat. 'When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it,' Trump groused in a tweet at the time. 'Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN.' A top aide to then-Defense Secretary James Mattis wrote that the former general privately said he would 'rather swallow acid' than watch Trump's military spectacle. Trump seems to have learned lessons from past parade problems and has been deflecting talk of June 14 being a festival in his honor. 'Your birthday's coming up,' NBC News's Kristen Welker said during a wide-ranging interview with Trump earlier this month. 'Yeah,' the president responded. 'And there are reports that you're looking into the possibility of a military —' said Welker, with Trump replying 'Yeah' as she said 'parade.' But the president immediately walked it back. 'Well, my birthday happens to be on Flag Day. So … I think they're talking about Flag Day. But I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday,' Trump went on. 'It's Flag Day, plus we're going to have different days. You know, if you look at Russia, they celebrate Victory Day.' Lavish spending on the military parade comes as the Trump administration is requesting $1 trillion for the Pentagon and pursuing massive cuts to nonmilitary programs like housing assistance, education initiatives, environmental programs, and foreign aid. Cohen reiterated the need to pass his Halting All Parades for Presidents' Yearly Birthdays; It Risks Taxpayer Harm, Damages, And Your (HAPPY BIRTHDAY) Budget Act, which he introduced last month. 'The egotist-in-chief wants taxpayers to foot the bill for a military parade on his birthday. This would be an unprecedented waste of money to please this self-absorbed con man,' said Cohen, whose legislation would bar public funds from being used for presidential birthday parades. 'It also sends the message that Trump is not a king, and we don't pay tribute to tyrants.' Despite their opposition to Trump's military spectacular, both Cohen and Blumenthal emphasized their appreciation for the military. 'I strongly support celebrating the Army's 250 years of service and sacrifice, but in a more appropriate way,' said the senator. 'We all appreciate the Army. We all appreciate the soldiers. We appreciate the veterans. We don't have to have this parade to do that,' Cohen told The Intercept. 'Even if the parade costs $45 million, that's a lot of money. And that could feed a lot of kids who are losing SNAP payments,' said Cohen, referencing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program formerly known as food stamps. 'So I think it's misprioritization of monies. And it just contributes to the whole idea of a fascist state with an authoritarian leader like Mussolini or Hitler.'
