President Trump threw a party and somebody else had to pay for it.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) sent a letter to the president on Tuesday, warning him that his Independence Day celebration, which cost the city government $1.7 million, bankrupted a special D.C. security fund used to safeguard the capital from terrorist threats and provide protection at events such as rallies and state funerals, The Washington Post reports.
Bowser wrote that the fund is depleted and expect to run a $6 deficit by Sept. 30.
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"We ask for your help with ensuring the residents of the District of Columbia are not asked to cover millions of dollars of federal expenses and are able to maintain our high standards of protection for federal events," Bowser wrote.
The costs for this year's July Fourth celebration were reportedly six times the cost as in years past in D.C. and the tab is apparently still growing.
The recent expenditures have also brought up some old wounds, the Post reports. During the Trump era, the security fund has dwindled and city officials said that the Trump administration has never repaid more than $7 million of the $27.3 million in costs the city incurred from Trump's 2017 inauguration. The administration argues that the city agreed to use unspent security fund money to pay for the the inaugural costs, but Bowser's staffers deny this, the Post reports.
The White House has not responded directly to Bowser's letter regarding the July Fourth celebration. Read more at The Washington Post.
