US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis believes President Donald Trump wants Washington, DC, to be the setting for a parade to honour the US military but left open the possibility it could be staged elsewhere.
Trump has asked the Pentagon to explore a parade in celebration of American troops after the Republican president marvelled at the Bastille Day military parade he attended in Paris last year.
But critics have lampooned the proposal, arguing a parade could cost millions of dollars at a time the Pentagon wants more stable funding for an overstretched military.
Mattis, speaking to reporters, said he would give Trump options on the parade.
"We'll work out everything from size, to participation to costs. And when I get clear options, we will send those over to the White House and I'll go over and talk to them," Mattis said on Thursday.
When asked whether location was also a variable, Mattis suggested he had not yet considered alternatives to Washington but did not rule out other options, either.
"As I understand it, he wants the parade in Washington, DC, but that's a good question. I'll see what we put together for options," Mattis said.
On Wednesday, the Council of the District of Columbia ridiculed the idea of a parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, the 1.9km stretch between the Capitol and the White House that is also the site of the Trump International Hotel.
"Tanks but no tanks!" it tweeted.
One possible date for the parade is November 11, which would be the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
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