Senate Democrat: Interior secretary ignored questions about funding for Trump’s July 4 celebration

Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) on Tuesday accused the Interior Department of refusing to answer an inquiry about President Trump’s Independence Day plans, including how the additional cost of the plans will be covered. 

“It is unacceptable that the Interior Department is failing to inform Congress about how it plans to spend taxpayer money to fund the president’s lavish July 4th plans, which reportedly include special access to the National Mall for the politically connected,” Udall, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, said in a statement. 

{mosads}Udall also accused Trump of using taxpayer money on “a de facto campaign rally.”

“The American people deserve to know how much of their money the president is spending to turn their July 4th celebration into a de facto campaign rally,” he added. “All reports indicate that the president is planning to turn a national day of unity into a day of vanity – trying to use the military for political purposes and doling out perks to his political backers – at the taxpayers’ expense. We need answers.”

“We will respond as appropriate,” Interior Department spokeswoman Molly Block told The Hill in a statement on Tuesday. She did not elaborate. 

Udall, along with Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), wrote a letter last month to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt asking for details on the Independence Day plan and how the costs will be funded. 

Trump has said he plans to speak at the Lincoln Memorial and said Monday that there will be military tanks at the event.