It will be the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday but President Donald Trump may be the one getting a gift during the massive planned parade that is expected to cost upwards of $45 million.

The June 14 event will also take place on President Trump’s 79th birthday, and will feature “28 Abrams tanks, 6,700 soldiers, 50 helicopters, 34 horses, two mules and a dog,” according to The New York Times. While “officials say there are no plans at the moment to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Mr. Trump, or to the Army, during the parade,” one plan “does, however, call for paratroopers from the Golden Knights, the Army parachute team, to land amid the festivities and hand Mr. Trump a flag.”

Calling it “a hand-delivered gift from the Army,” The Daily Beast adds: “Organizers are eager to emphasize that the event is not being held in his honor to avoid the suggestions that the spectacle resemble something out of a dictatorship.”

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Meanwhile, questions “are being raised about the timing and cost of the event, especially given the Trump administration’s push for federal budget cuts, including slashing tens of thousands of jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Political commentator Molly Jong-Fast responded to the Times report by saying, “Cutting funding for education and healthcare but paying for this …”

Earlier this month the progressive political action committee VoteVets wrote: “Trump’s throwing himself a military parade on his birthday and brushing off the cost as ‘peanuts.’ 6,600 Troops, 50 helicopters, millions lit on fire—just to stroke the ego of a draft-dodging wannabe dictator. This isn’t patriotism. It’s authoritarian cosplay on OUR dime.”

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U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) last week wrote: “Donald Trump wants a massive military parade for his birthday—tanks, jets, 6,600 troops—all on YOUR dime. It’s grotesque. A wannabe king playing dress-up with taxpayer dollars. I introduced the HAPPY BIRTHDAY Budget Act to block this nonsense. If he wants a party, he can pay for it himself.”

The White House posted an invitation, and a link for those who wish to attend.

Join us on June 14th for the U.S. Army’s 250th Anniversary Grand Military Parade on the National Mall! Hosted by President Donald Trump, this historic celebration honors our brave soldiers. 🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/7Hb5CvPTze

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 23, 2025

See the social media post above or at this link.

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Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump’s highly controversial head of the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney appeared to suggest on social media that all Trump supporters could be eligible for pardons.

Ed Martin, who has represented January 6 defendants and was an organizer for Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rallies that falsely alleged widespread fraud in the 2020 election, was installed as Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia on Trump’s first day in office this year. However, his background was so controversial that his nomination to fill the position permanently was scuttled by Republican Senators joining with Democrats.

The Associated Press had reported that Martin’s nomination was pulled after “concerns of partisanship” and concerns “about the conservative activist’s modest legal experience, divisive politics and support for Jan. 6 rioters.”

On Monday, Martin thanked President Donald Trump for giving an unconditional pardon to a Virginia Sheriff who had been convicted on federal conspiracy, fraud, and bribery charges.

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“Trump praised Jenkins as ‘a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and ‘left for dead,'” according to ABC News.

“This is why I, as President of the United States, see fit to end his unfair sentence, and grant Sheriff Jenkins a FULL and Unconditional Pardon. He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee had called Jenkins’ actions a “cash-for-badges scheme.”

Martin, who also serves as Trump’s weaponization of government czar, posted a thank-you note on social media on Monday: “Thank you, President Trump! I am thrilled that Sheriff Jenkins is the first pardon since I became your Pardon Attorney.  Congratulations, Sheriff Jenkins: Do great things and make us proud.”

He followed that up with a second note: “Thank you, @potus Trump, for pardoning Sheriff Jenkins!”

And then, this vow: “No MAGA left behind.”

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Critics blasted Martin.

“Hey Ed!!” wrote Lawfare senior editor Anna Bower. “Aren’t you the guy who is investigating the ‘politicization’ of DOJ? And you’re also the pardon attorney? And you said ‘No MAGA left behind’ in reference to a pardon the President issued?”

“Do you think that might be perceived as politicization of the pardon process?” she asked.

Eric Columbus, who served as the special litigation counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives and in the DOJ during the Obama administration, declared Martin is “already announcing that it’s all just politics.”

Media Matters’ senior fellow Matthew Gertz wrote, “Ed Martin on the case, doling out pardons to every MAGA crank who enjoys crimes.”

Two weeks ago Martin announced his appointment to lead the weaponization group. Watch the video below or at this link.

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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s future reportedly may be in jeopardy as multiple crises swirl around him amid the White House’s increased “scrutiny” into his leadership and a new report describing him as “polarizing.”

Inside Secretary Hegseth’s inner circle, “personality conflicts persist and inexperience reigns, fueling internal speculation about the defense secretary’s long-term viability in Trump’s Cabinet,” The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Detailing “palpable friction,” sources told the Post that there is “a cold war that exists in between flash points” which is “unsettling.”

There is an “enduring rift” among Hegseth’s senior advisers that “has divided the Pentagon’s front office and fueled internal speculation about his long-term viability in the Cabinet post after several episodes that attracted White House scrutiny, according to numerous people familiar with the matter.”

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Among those “episodes” is the infamous “SignalGate,” where numerous top national defense and national security officials were caught using the encrypted app Signal, seen by some experts as insecure, to communicate what some claimed were classified intelligence, including plans for military operations.

In the wake of SignalGate, an investigation into leaking was cited as the cause for the ouster of three top Pentagon officials, who called their dismissal “unconscionable” and claim they have been slandered.

“We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door, the three officials, Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick, said in a statement last month.

The Post notes that the “conflict within Hegseth’s inner circle persists” even after the purge and despite “attempts to portray a sense of unity among his remaining brain trust.”

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“His claims, however, are belied by continued behind-the-scenes dysfunction, brought on by unresolved personality conflicts, inexperience, vacancies in key leadership roles and a steady-state paranoia over what political crisis could emerge next, current and former officials said.”

Washington Post military affairs reporter Dan Lamothe’s report focuses on the “combustible relationship” between two top Hegseth senior advisors, Eric Geressy and Ricky Buria.

“I spoke with numerous current and former officials for this story,” Lamothe wrote on social media. “Many spoke with a sense of exasperation, especially when I raised” the “enduring clash” between the two advisors.

As for Hegseth’s future, the Post reports there remains “palpable” friction between Geressy and Buria, which “those familiar with the situation say … is emblematic of the instability that reigns at the Pentagon as Hegseth attempts to regain his footing after several scandals that irked the White House, alarmed Congress and left the former Fox News personality on the defensive.”

The Post adds that “current and former defense officials who have witnessed the upheaval say it is unclear how long the polarizing defense secretary can survive in his role without imposing order on his own staff.”

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Image via Reuters