A model of the arch proposed by President Donald Trump to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States is seen placed next to models of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol on a table during the Fine Arts Commission’s public meeting in Washington, DC on April 16, 2026.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the giant arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would be a “top-of-the-line military complex” that could house drones and snipers while storing ammunition.
This is another example of President Trump’s insistence that efforts to beautify the White House and the city also serve defensive purposes. President Trump has called the new White House banquet hall a “military complex” and has argued that it is necessary for national security purposes.
The Pentagon said it had no further information beyond the president’s statement.
President Trump’s announcement comes as the arch, like many of his projects, faces legal challenges. The arch has received early approval from the American Board of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by President Trump, but a group of three military veterans and an architectural historian filed a lawsuit saying the project needed approval from Congress.
“The president’s belated efforts to justify this project on national security grounds do nothing to correct its fundamental illegality,” Nicola Sansone, one of the lawyers representing the litigants, said Sunday. “Congress has not approved the arch. Unless and until Congress approves, the project should not be allowed to proceed.”
In a social media post, the Republican president said that at the military’s “strong request,” he had agreed to convert the planned 250-foot (76-meter) Memorial Arch into a “top-of-the-line military complex/Arc de Triomphe, housing and storing large numbers of unmanned aerial vehicles and snipers on both the rooftop and plaza, ready for quick use, as well as storing and storing large quantities of sniper ammunition.”
The arch is proposed in a circular area adjacent to Memorial Bridge, a high-traffic area and one of the few connecting bridges connecting the nation’s capital and northern Virginia. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia, who represents the area, said there is another potential problem given its proximity to the Washington airport.
“Putting a drone launch site directly in DCA’s landing path is a foolish, dangerous, and unfeasible idea,” Beyer wrote in X. “President Trump clearly expects to lose the lawsuit, so he wants to create an excuse to claim that the Arch is tied to national security. This is clearly stupid.”
The project is one of several the Republican president is pursuing to leave a lasting mark on Washington. These include renaming and renovating the White House Ballroom, the Kennedy Center, renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and rebuilding the East Potomac Park golf course, which could significantly reduce public access to running and biking trails.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the arch was scheduled to take place later this month. The project has yet to receive final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which greenlit the site and preliminary plans at its July meeting. The committee plans to revisit the issue this fall.
