House Dems call on Trump to cancel plans to speak at July Fourth celebration
By Cristina Marcos - 06/06/19 11:42 AM EDT
A trio of top House Democrats called on President Trump to cancel a planned speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the national Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall, saying it would inject partisanship into a traditionally apolitical event.
In a Thursday letter to Trump, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment Chairwoman Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) warned Trump's plan to deliver a speech "could create the appearance of a televised, partisan campaign rally on the Mall at public expense."
They further cautioned a speech by the president during an annual event that already involves "substantial" logistics, security and cost to the federal government would impose further complications. The Democrats suggested Trump schedule a speech on another day or at another venue.
"Rather than spending millions of taxpayer dollars on what could appear to be a campaign rally, those funds would be far better spent addressing the Department’s maintenance backlog," the lawmakers wrote, referencing the Department of the Interior.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/447281-house-dems-call-on-trump-to-cancel-plans-to-speak-at-july-fourth-celebration