Richard Painter, the former top ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, is mocking President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE’s proposed military parade, tweeting Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be invited to send a delegation.

“As a key campaign backer, Putin should be invited to send a platoon of soldiers to march in the parade,” Painter tweeted.

As a key campaign backer, Putin should be invited to send a platoon of soldiers to march in the parade. They can teach our soldiers the march steps. Perhaps North Korea too. They are good at glorifying their leader and making sure everyone claps for him.https://t.co/oLCTb3Bl3Y — Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) February 7, 2018

Painter, a vice chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is one of a growing number of lawmakers, former administration officials and other figures weighing in against Trump’s proposed parade. His Putin comment refers to Moscow's 2016 election meddling, which the intelligence community believes was carried out with the intention of helping to elect Trump.

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The Pentagon and White House on Wednesday confirmed reports that planning for a parade in Washington, D.C., is underway, after The Washington Post reported a day earlier that Trump had given “marching orders” to Pentagon officials to plan the event.

Trump has brought up the prospect of a military parade several times during his presidency, and reportedly told officials he wants a celebration “like the one in France,” referring to the Bastille Day parade in Paris he witnessed last year.

Critics, both Democrats and Republican, have said that a parade would be unnecessary, could send the wrong message and appear “totalitarian.”

GOP Sen. John Kennedy John Neely KennedyMORE (La.) said Wednesday that America does not need to “show off” its military power because “everybody knows we have it.”

“We’re not North Korea, we’re not Russia and we're not China, and I don’t want to be,” Kennedy said.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth Ladda (Tammy) Tammy DuckworthMcConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled Biden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies John Fogerty: 'Confounding' that Trump campaign played 'Fortunate Son' at rally MORE (D-Ill.), who earned a Purple Heart for her service in Iraq, said troops overseas don't need "a show of bravado" as much as strong support at home.

"This parade would not only waste millions of taxpayer dollars, it would also cost our military precious time and resources," Duckworth said in a statement.