Trump Says Planned Washington Arch Will House Drones and Snipers - Newsweek

President Donald Trump said Sunday that his planned triumphal arch near Arlington Memorial Bridge would be converted into a military complex capable of storing and rapidly deploying drones, snipers and ammunition.

In a post on Truth Social the president said the change came at the “strong request” of the U.S. military and was required for national security, but he did not identify the officials or service branches involved or provide evidence of a formal military request.

The announcement significantly expands the stated purpose of a project previously presented as a monumental gateway and visitor attraction near Arlington National Cemetery. It also raises new questions about security, public access, approvals and the storage of weapons beside one of the country’s most sensitive ceremonial sites. Existing descriptions have included galleries and an open-air observation deck inside the planned structure.

Newsweek contacted the White House and the Department of Defense for comment via email outside of regular office hours.

Public planning documents describe a roughly 250-foot granite-clad structure at Memorial Circle, with associated plaza and landscaping work, utilities, traffic modifications, lighting and security features. The published project description does not mention drones, sniper positions or ammunition storage, leaving unclear whether Trump’s announcement would require the design and its federal reviews to be revised.

The National Park Service has issued a finding that the previously described project would have no significant environmental impact, but said the finding did not amount to a final decision or approval.

The proposal had already attracted intense scrutiny before Trump announced its potential military role. The National Park Service said it received more than 100,000 comments during a June historic-preservation review, with commenters raising concerns about the arch’s scale, construction and potential effect on the sightline linking the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Memorial Bridge, Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington House. That review considered the monument and visitor facilities described in the published plans, rather than the drone operations, sniper positions and ammunition storage outlined by Trump.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.