President Donald Trump has found a new purpose for the massive triumphal arch he wants to build near Arlington National Cemetery: national security.
“At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, at the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social.
Trump said the proposed 250-foot structure would house and rapidly deploy “large numbers of drones,” position snipers on its roof and plaza and store “large quantities of sniper ammunition.” He also claimed Washington is the only one of the world’s “59 top cities and Capitals” without a triumphal arch.
But the post raises questions about both the history of the project and its newly announced military purpose.
The Pentagon has not publicly identified which part of the military requested the conversion or what security threat the facility would address. A military official said the Defense Department had nothing to add beyond Trump’s post. Retired Marine Col. Mark Cancian also questioned the need for such a facility when the active Army installation Fort Myer sits roughly a mile away.
Trump’s claim that the arch has been “planned since the Civil War Era” also oversimplifies a complicated history. Plans for a Potomac crossing date to before the Civil War, and various monumental arches were proposed in Washington during the late 19th century. But the plan Congress approved in 1925 for Arlington Memorial Bridge called for two 166-foot columns near what is now Memorial Circle, not Trump’s triumphal arch. Those columns were never built.
The claim involving “59 top cities and Capitals” is similarly unclear. Trump did not identify the 59 cities or the source of the comparison. GlobalSecurity.org examined a similar claim Trump made earlier this year and found that, among the world’s 65 largest metropolitan areas, only eight had what it classified as significant triumphal or memorial arches. Fifty-seven, including Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow and Los Angeles, did not.
The military conversion could also add questions to an already complicated approval process. The project still lacks final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission and faces a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s authority to build it without congressional authorization. The Washington Post reported Sunday that a military complex had not previously been raised during required historic-preservation consultations.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Then there are the drones.
The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the 250-foot structure Friday, finding it would not pose a substantial hazard to aircraft using nearby Reagan National Airport. Two days later, Trump announced plans to rapidly deploy “large numbers of drones” from the site. There is no indication the FAA’s determination evaluated drone operations from the proposed complex.
It is not the first time Trump has added a national-security purpose to one of his disputed construction projects.
The White House ballroom was initially promoted as a venue for state dinners and other large events. As the project faced legal challenges, Trump increasingly described it as a “Military Complex/Ballroom” and emphasized underground security infrastructure as part of its purpose.
Now the arch, initially promoted as a monument commemorating America’s 250th anniversary, has undergone a similar transformation. Whether the military requested that transformation — and why it needs a drone and sniper facility at Memorial Circle — remains unexplained.
Read more
about this topic
