Trump asks for military tanks on the Mall as part of grandiose July Fourth event

National Park Service acting director Dan Smith faces plenty of looming priorities this summer, including an $11 billion backlog in maintenance needs as well as natural disasters such as the recent wildfire damage to Big Bend National Park.

But in recent days, another issue has competed for Smith’s attention: How to satisfy President Trump’s request to station tanks or other armored military vehicles on the Mall for his planned Fourth of July address to the nation.

The ongoing negotiations over whether to use massive military hardware, such as Abrams tanks or Bradley Fighting Vehicles, as a prop for Trump’s “Salute to America” is just one of many unfinished details when it comes to the celebration planned for Thursday, according to several people briefed on the plan, who spoke on the anonymity to speak frankly.

View the complete July 1 article by Juliet Eilperin, Josh Dawsey and Dan Lamothe on The Washington Post website here.