D.C.-area lawmakers balk at Trump’s July 4 plans

D.C.-area lawmakers say they’re seriously concerned about President Trump’s plans to hold another “Salute to America” military event on July 4 despite the coronavirus pandemic, saying the region continues to see high infection rates and large crowds would set them back.

“Given the current COVID-19 crisis, we believe such an event would needlessly risk the health and safety of thousands of Americans,” Democratic senators and House representatives from Maryland, Virginia and D.C. wrote in a letter to the Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. “Further, this event would come at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars while we are facing an unprecedented economic downturn due to the pandemic.”

Mr. Trump organized the first such event on the National Mall last year.

It featured military vehicles, a presidential address and a flyover by the armed forces, leading some to praise it for its patriotic spirit and others to deride it as a political gimmick that evoked a Trump rally and piggybacked on existing traditions.

The White House says organizers will take precautions as it plans another version for July 4, which is about five weeks away.

“As President Trump has said, there will be an Independence Day celebration this year and it will have a different look than 2019 to ensure the health and safety of those attending,” said White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere. “The American people have shown tremendous courage and spirit in the fight against this global pandemic just as our forefathers did in the fight to secure our independence, and both deserve celebration on America’s birthday this year.”

Democrats who complained to the White House said they don’t see how it is possible to pull it off.

The capital region continues to see rising COVID-19 cases, making it one of the hardest-hit places in the U.S., and it is likely the capital will limit public transpiration and restrict business hours and public gatherings into the summer.

“Given the number of individuals that would try to attend such an event, logistically such an event would be impossible to put on safely,” the lawmakers said.

They also said holding the event, which cost over $5 million last year, would be a bad look amid the economic fallout from the pandemic.

“The administration, including your agencies, should be focusing on helping American families, not on a vanity project for the president,” the lawmakers told the secretaries.

Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia led the letter.

It was also signed by Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of D.C., and Reps. Gerry Connolly and Jennifer Wexton of Virginia and Jamie Raskin, Anthony Brown and David Trone of Maryland.