Trump says proposed Washington arch would serve as military complex for drones and snipers

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the 250-foot memorial arch he proposes to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would be turned into a "top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch" capable of housing drones, snipers and storing large quantities of ammunition. He said the change came after a "strong request" from the military.

The Pentagon said it has no information beyond the president’s statement. The arch, which has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is being challenged in court by a group of veterans and an architectural historian who argue that congressional approval is required. > "The President’s belated efforts to manufacture a national security justification for this project do nothing to cure its fundamental illegality," said attorney Nicolas Sansone, representing the litigants.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who represents the area surrounding the proposed site, warned that locating a drone launch site near the Washington National Airport runway path would be unsafe. > "Putting a drone launching site directly in the landing path for DCA is a dangerous and unworkable idea," Beyer wrote on X.

The arch’s groundbreaking was slated for this month, but final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission is still pending. The commission had greenlit the site and preliminary plans in July and is expected to revisit the project later this year.