Norton Statement on President Trump’s Latest Plans for Fourth of July

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released the following statement after news broke that President Trump wants to incorporate tanks and heavy military equipment into the Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall.

"After we have worked for years with the National Park Service to refurbish the National Mall, at a cost of millions of taxpayer dollars, President Trump now proposes to have 60-ton battle tanks there, where they would likely do significant damage. These tanks, heavy equipment, and weapons of war have no place on the National Mall at all, particularly as we celebrate the Fourth of July.

"President Trump's decision to insert himself into the U.S. capital's nonpartisan Fourth of July celebration keeps inviting more controversy to a holiday best known for uniting Americans around celebrations of the nation's birthday. The last time President Trump obsessed over heavy military equipment was regarding Veterans Day. Just as the Pentagon reminded the president of the damage tanks would do to D.C. streets, costing the federal government and District taxpayers millions of dollars, Interior and other federal officials must do the same for the Mall before it is too late. Federal officials need to bring the president to his senses to stop these ridiculous attempts to relive France's Bastille Day instead of focusing on America's own traditions. The federally funded D.C. Emergency Planning and Security Fund (ESPF), which compensates D.C. for security and emergency services for federal events, is still owed $7.3 million for the 2017 Inauguration, even without the costs of Trump's unprecedented Fourth of July extravaganza."