The proposed triumphal arch in Washington, DC, intended to commemorate 250 years of US independence, will also serve as a military complex for storing drones and weapons, President Donald Trump announced on social media Sunday.
Trump stated the redesign was requested by the military to address “National Security purposes.” The updated plan includes facilities to house, store, and rapidly deploy large numbers of drones, along with sniper units positioned on both the roof and plaza areas. The president emphasized the storage capacity for large quantities of sniper ammunition, declaring, “There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World.”
First proposed last year, the arch was designed to rival Paris’s Arc de Triomphe but on a much grander scale. The original blueprint called for a 76-meter (250-foot) structure, a height that exceeds legal restrictions on new construction in the capital. Trump has not yet released details on the revised architectural design.
The project has faced significant opposition since its inception. Critics have argued that the massive structure would obstruct views of Arlington National Cemetery from the Lincoln Memorial, a vista carefully preserved to symbolize national unity following the Civil War. In February, Vietnam War veterans filed a lawsuit challenging the plan, arguing that any major monument in the District requires congressional approval. While a judge ordered the administration to provide notice before beginning work, the broader legal challenge remains pending.
Earlier this year, the US Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump, approved a design featuring golden lions at the base, along with golden eagles and a winged angel atop a baroque-style arch. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed last week that the structure would not pose a hazard to nearby Reagan Washington National Airport, though it will require a warning beacon.
The arch controversy is part of a wider pattern of pushback against Trump’s developmental projects in the capital. This past Saturday, thousands of demonstrators rallied and formed a human chain around the Kennedy Center to protest threats to demolish the performing arts venue. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court recently allowed construction to proceed on a controversial $400 million ballroom and underground bunker at the White House, which Trump has also justified on national security grounds by referring to it as a “military complex.”
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