WASHINGTON (CBS) The Pentagon is working on plans for a military parade at the personal request of President Trump. It could happen in early November and possibly coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
"The president's respect, his fondness for the military, I think, is reflected in him asking for these options," U.S. Defense Secretary James Matthis said.
President Trump expressed his affinity for France's military parade on Bastille Day when he visited Paris last July. He called that parade "one of the greatest he'd ever seen."
"We're going to have to try and top it!" the president said. "But we had a lot of planes going over it, we had a lot of military might and it was really a beautiful thing to see."
News of the president's parade request comes as Congress is trying to hammer out a budget agreement that includes more military funding. Some lawmakers are reluctant to see money go toward a parade.
"I don't think we need to add an additional expense," said Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma. "Our issue is we have a lot of military parades around the country."
Others are concerned about the optics.
"When you're the most powerful nation in all of human history, you don't have to show it off like Russia does. And North Korea and China," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana.
"I'm not looking for a Soviet-style hardware display. That's not who we are," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina.
The last military parade in Washington was nearly 27 years ago following the end of the 1991 Gulf War.
It's not yet known what such a parade would cost taxpayers, but Senate Democrats sent a letter to the defense secretary calling it "inappropriate and wasteful."
