D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is responding to reports that the White House is planning a large-scale military parade through the District on June 14 to celebrate President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

“I don’t know if it’s been characterized as a military parade, but maybe it has. I haven’t been directly involved in it yet,” Bowser said in a press briefing Friday.

The mayor further said she believes the Trump administration has reached out to the city’s Special Events Task Force, which typically handles District events like parades, and that the event is in its early stages of planning.

The Washington City Paper was the first to report claims of the event’s planning. It would begin at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and end at the White House.

In 2018, during his first presidential term, Trump announced plans for a similar event where he hoped to parade military tanks and planes down Pennsylvania Avenue. He ultimately canceled the event following complaints from D.C. officials and word from military leaders that it could cost up to $92 million.

According to sources familiar with the event, the president once again envisions heavy military equipment and personnel parading down D.C. streets this summer, but, Bowser expressed concern.

“If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” she said.

Officials in Arlington have said they were given a “heads up” about the parade by the White House — but that they’ve seen no formal request.

WTOP has reached out to the White House for comment.

Grace Newton

Grace Newton is an Associate Producer at WTOP. She also works as an associate producer for NPR Newscast. Grace was born and raised in North Carolina but has lived in D.C. since 2018. Grace graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in art history in 2022.