WASHINGTON -- With three weeks to go, exactly what's going to happen in Washington on the Fourth of July remains a subject of confusion because of President Donald Trump's plans to reshape the nation's premier celebration.
Will Independence Day festivities be held around the Washington Monument or shift to the Lincoln Memorial, as the White House has reportedly requested? Will Trump follow through on his plans to give a speech? And, if he does, will the speech be open to anyone, including protesters?
The White House hasn't revealed its plans. The National Park Service, which is primarily responsible for the event, has also gone silent. That leaves the city government, which helps with security, in the dark.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia's representative in Congress, said interdepartmental planning meetings for the Fourth of July usually begin up to three months in advance. But to her knowledge, none of those meetings have been held.
"The city is scrambling to figure out what to do because all they have is the outline of what [the White House] wants," Norton said. She said she approached the Park Service for details but, "they wouldn't tell us a thing. You know why? Because they don't know a thing."
Mayor Muriel Bowser declined requests for comment.
Independence Day normally draws tens of thousands of people to the National Mall for a celebration capped by fireworks. A major security overhaul was implemented after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but the festivities have run smoothly for years.
The first sign that 2019's celebration may be a little different came in a February tweet from Trump announcing a special "Salute to America" on July 4 that would feature "an address by your favorite President, me!"
Last week, a National Park Service official was quoted in The Washington Post as saying the White House was planning a Trump speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the event.
But since that report, the White House and the National Park Service have refused to comment.
Norton is predicting a security nightmare, with a location move and format change being carried out on short notice and with the president's movements and security requirements causing chaos.
"This will be all sorts of headaches for security," she said.
A Section on 06/13/2019