Trump's budget director just gave a cost estimate for the proposed military parade

Budget director Mick Mulvaney gave a cost estimate for President Donald Trump’s proposed military parade Wednesday, and also said he would vote against the Trump administration’s budget proposal if he were still in Congress.

Mulvaney was testifying before the House Budget Committee, defending the Trump administration's 2019 budget proposal.

How much would a parade cost?

Mulvaney said the parade could cost anywhere from $10 million to $30 million, based on a variety of cost estimates he’s seen.

The cost range depends on how long the parade is and how extravagant they choose to make it.

“Obviously, an hour parade is different than a five-hour parade,” Mulvaney said.

Because the idea of the parade came up so recently, it was not factored into the Trump administration’s $4.4 trillion budget request.

“We’ve not done much research on it yet,” Mulvaney said.

Why were they talking about it?

Mulvaney appeared before the committee to defend the administration’s budget request and was challenged by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

“How much is that parade going to cost and where is that money coming from?” Lee asked.

Lee also said the parade sounds “very similar to those held in authoritarian countries like in North Korea.”

Budget director doesn’t support the budget

Mulvaney was asked by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) if he would vote for the budget he was presenting.

“As a member of Congress representing the 5th District of South Carolina, I probably would have found enough shortcomings in this to vote against it,” Mulvaney said, according to NBC News. “But I’m the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and my job is to fund the president’s priorities, which is exactly what we did.”