American taxpayers are looking at a bigger bill for this year's Independence Day party in the nation's capital.
For this Fourth of July, President Trump has added an address from the Lincoln Memorial, tanks stationed in the area, an extended fireworks display and military aircraft flyovers.
Democrats in Congress are complaining about the added expenses.
"There's going to be a big price tag for this and the taxpayers will have to pick up the tab," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which directs spending for such events.
The annual July 4 parade will still happen that morning, followed by a new 6:30 p.m. Trump address from the Lincoln Memorial with military flyovers and performances by the Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and others. That evening, the Capitol Fourth concert, also a trademark of the usual D.C. holiday, will be followed by an extended fireworks show lasting 35 to 40 minutes.
Van Hollen and other Democratic appropriators on Capitol Hill have raised questions and concerns for months that spending for the day could go haywire.
And just before the big event, they still don't know how much it will all cost.
Congress waiting on total costs; experts say it's not cheap
"We haven't heard anything," said New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall, ranking Democrat for the Senate Appropriations Committee panel on interior and related agencies. "It's disturbing."
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would suspend operations at Reagan National Airport for 1.5 hours for Trump's speech and flyovers. The aerial program will feature the jetliner used for Air Force One and aircraft representing all five military services, including the Navy's Blue Angels, said Jeffrey Reinbold, a superintendent of the National Park Service.
A military official told NPR it could also include F-35s and F-18s. And there will be military tanks parked along the National Mall, Trump said.
Trump said there would be "the brand new Sherman tanks and we have the brand new Abram tanks." However, production of Sherman tanks ended in the 1940s.
"We're gonna have a great Fourth of July in Washington, D.C. It'll be like no other, it'll be special and I hope a lot of people come and it's going to be about this country and it's a salute to America," Trump said from the Oval Office Monday. "I'm going to be here and I'm going to say a few words and we're going to have planes going overhead, the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too. And we're gonna have some tanks stationed outside."
NPR's multiple requests for costs related to the plans, as well as more extensive details on the additional military personnel, equipment and security for the day from the Interior Department, National Park Service, U.S. Secret Service, the Pentagon and the five military services went unanswered. A military official said the White House was not approving Pentagon requests to share such details.
It won't be cheap, experts said.
University of Denver professor Andrew Sherbo, who tracks such figures, said the Boeing 747 used for Air Force One could come at a cost of $205,000 an hour (the jetliner is only considered Air Force One when the president is aboard).
The cost per flying hour for the F-35 can be $20,000 or more, according to Department of Defense comptroller figures.
The Blue Angels could cost a more reasonable $6,000 per day, since air shows are tied to their training, said Sherbo, a former Pentagon official who now teaches finance.