President Trump’s proposed military parade may not take place in Washington, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson said Thursday.
“There are options, and we will explore those, and the president will ultimately decide,” Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Dana White told reporters at a briefing.
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the president was considering a military parade, prompting criticism from local Washington, D.C. officials.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters Thursday he believed that the president wanted it to take place in D.C., but that the location was not yet determined.
“The president is looking at a parade. OK? I owe him some options. No I have not got those options done. We’ll turn it over to the military guys who know how to do parades, and we’ll put together options and we will work out everything from size to participation to costs, and when we get clear options, we will send those over to the White House and I’ll go over and talk to them,” he said.
White said the U.S. Army would be the executive agent for planning the parade.
Asked whether now is the right time to spend money on a military parade, White indicated that it was worth honoring the one percent of the population who serve in the military.
“The president is looking for opportunities to honor our service members and show appreciation. Our all-volunteer force depends on one percent of the U.S. population. It’s an extraordinary population,” she said.
“And the president is simply looking for options, and we’re going to provide him those options. We don’t have a plan yet. We’re developing those — those options. And when we do, we’ll present that to the White House, and the president will ultimately decide,” she said.