President Donald Trump said Sunday that the massive arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would become a "top grade military complex" able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition.
It is one more example of how Trump is insisting that his initiatives to beautify the White House and the city are also serving a defensive purpose.
Trump has been calling the new White House ballroom a "military complex" and arguing it is necessary for national security purposes.
The Republican president said in a social media post that he had agreed, at the "strong request" of the military, to convert the planned 250-foot-tall memorial arch "into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch, to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage."
After teasing it in October 2025, Trump has continued to promote his vision for a 250-foot triumphal arch situated between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The arch will “celebrate the triumphs of the American people, inspire patriotism and love of country, and beautify our nation’s capital,” the Department of the Interior, as its sponsor, declared in its project materials.
The arch (one of several projects that the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington) is currently awaiting final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), a federal review panel dominated by Trump appointees.
Among the others are the white House ballroom, renaming and renovating the Kennedy Center, refurbishing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and rebuilding a golf course in East Potomac Park that could significantly reduce the public's access to running and biking paths.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) on Sunday criticized Trump’s announcement.
“Putting a drone launching site directly in the landing path for [Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport] is a stupid, dangerous, and unworkable idea,” Beyer said on X.
“Trump clearly expects to lose a lawsuit and therefore wants to set up a pretext to argue that the arch is tied to national security.”