Trump says planned memorial arch will double as military complex
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the large memorial arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would be turned into a "top-grade military complex". He said the structure would be able to host drones and snipers and store ammunition.
The announcement adds a new national security argument to a project that is already facing legal challenges. It also fits a broader pattern in which Trump has said his plans to reshape the White House and Washington are not only beautification projects but also serve a defensive purpose.
In a social media post, Trump said he had agreed, at the military's "strong request", to convert the planned 250-foot-tall, or 76-metre, 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".
Trump has made similar arguments about other projects. He has been calling the new White House ballroom a "military complex" and saying it is needed for national security. The Pentagon, however, said it had no information beyond the president's statement on the arch.
The arch has received early approval from the US Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all appointed by Trump. But three veterans and an architectural historian have filed a lawsuit, saying the project must be approved by Congress. Nicolas Sansone, one of the lawyers for the petitioners, said on Sunday: "The President's belated efforts to manufacture a national security justification for this project do nothing to cure its fundamental illegality. Congress has not authorised the arch, and unless and until Congress does so, the project should not be permitted to move forward."
The proposed arch is planned for a circle next to Memorial Bridge, a busy traffic point and one of the limited bridge links between Washington and northern Virginia. It is one of several projects Trump is pursuing in the US capital, including the White House ballroom, the renaming and renovation of the Kennedy Centre, the refurbishment of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the rebuilding of a golf course in East Potomac Park that could significantly reduce public access to running and cycling paths.
Groundbreaking for the arch had been expected sometime this month. The project has not yet received final approval from the National Capital Area Planning Commission, which cleared the site and preliminary plans at its July meeting and is expected to consider the matter again this autumn. Overall, Trump's latest statement has added a military role to a project that remains under legal and planning scrutiny.
