WASHINGTON – They snapped. They stared off into space. They zipped into Senate elevators and smiled as the doors closed with them safely inside.
This is how nearly a dozen Senate Republicans reacted Wednesday when asked the simplest question: Do you plan to attend President Donald Trump’s military parade in D.C. on Saturday, and are you comfortable with its estimated $45 million price tag?
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“I won’t be here in town, but I wish I was,” lamented Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
Asked about the tens of millions of dollars the event is going to cost taxpayers, Fischer walked into a nearby Senate elevator and gazed into nothingness as the doors closed.
At least the Nebraska senator spoke. Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) clocked in at eight seconds of silence in response to HuffPost asking the same question. With a big grin, Budd slipped into another elevator and stood there, waiting for the doors to close.
“Nope,” Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said, fidgeting on his phone, when asked if he planned to attend. He let out a big sigh when asked about the parade’s price tag, and started talking about unrelated legislation.
“I’m focused on the trillions right now, which is the reconciliation bill,” Young said. “So I think my constituents would assess that my priorities are appropriate.”
Asked if that means he is comfortable with how much Trump’s military event will cost taxpayers, he snapped: “I answered the question.”
When HuffPost pointed out he didn’t actually answer the question, Young interrupted, “I answered the question I wanted to answer!’
Bill Clark via Getty Images
Saturday’s parade is being billed as a celebration of the Army’s 250th anniversary, but it’s also timed with Trump’s 79th birthday. The event will feature thousands of soldiers, 150 military vehicles and more than 50 aircraft being rolled around the streets of D.C.
Millions of people nationwide will be protesting Trump at the same time as his parade, in response to his harsh crackdown on immigration enforcement and his decision to deploy the U.S. military to Los Angeles to respond to unrest there. The “No Kings Day” protests are happening in all 50 states and in more than 1,500 cities, though not in D.C.
An obvious reason Senate Republicans don’t want to talk about the cost of this parade is that they’ve been on a tear about slashing so-called government waste since Trump took office, and a massive military parade for the president isn’t exactly essential.
“I might be,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said of attending the parade. As for its costs? “Uh, I have not looked into the price.”
But GOP senators also don’t want to say anything that will anger the president, even if deep down, they’re not happy about spending tens of millions of dollars on something that the second-highest-ranking U.S. general told Trump in his first term is “what dictators do.” So they seem to be opting for going silent or fleeing the scene.
“I am committed in Boise,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said of his plans for Saturday. “I appreciate the Army and the fact that they’re 250 years old.”
As for the cost of the military parade, he just walked away, saying, “That’s all you’re going to get.”
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) dismissed any conversation at all about it, saying she doesn’t “do hallway interviews.” (Most conversations with the press happen in Senate hallways.)
“No comment,” said Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). “No comment.”
Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
To be sure, a few Republicans said they were fine with the costs to put on the event.
“Listen, the Army has done a lot for us,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullen (R-Okla.). “The idea that we get to celebrate their 250th birthday, I think they deserve to have a good celebration.”
He won’t be there, though. “It is my 28th wedding anniversary,” he said. “I choose marriage.”
Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) said he’s very supportive of “a celebration of our president’s birthday,” and the costs of the parade don’t bother him because he wants it to look impressive to people in other countries.
“I mean, if you go out there with, you know, two jeeps and an M-16, you know, how does the world perceive that?” Justice said. “Come on now, this is America, you know?… If we’re going to do it, let’s put on a big show.”
Out of 14 GOP senators, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only one HuffPost talked to who criticized holding the parade. It’s not just because of its hefty costs, he said, but also because he doesn’t think ”the symbolism of tanks and missiles” represents what the United States is all about.
“If you ask me about a military parade, all the images that come to mind, the first images, are of the Soviet Union and North Korea,” he said.