President Donald Trump is arguing that one other one in every of his tasks round Washington, D.C., is being constructed for nationwide safety functions, claiming that his proposed “Triumphal Arch” would even be used as a “high grade Navy Complicated.”
Trump posted on his social media platform Sunday that, on the request of the U.S. army, he has “agreed to transform the magnificent Triumphal Arch, deliberate because the Civil Warfare Period a few years in the past, on the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, right into a high grade Navy Complicated/Triumphal Arch, to deal with, retailer, and have the speedy skill to make use of massive numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on each the roof and plaza areas, and moreover have and maintain massive portions of sniper ammunition in storage.”
President Donald Trump holds up a mannequin for a proposed “Independence Arch” as he speaks throughout a dinner with ballroom donors within the East Room of the White Home in Washington, DC on Oct. 15, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP through Getty Photos
The Pentagon declined to remark in response to an ABC Information request.
Trump’s publish mentioned the construction could be used for nationwide safety functions, an announcement that is much like his declare final month that the under-construction White House ballroom, which he had beforehand mentioned was wanted to host occasions, is required to construct a “extremely built-in army complicated that comes with a classical, however extremely secured, ballroom and essential national-security services.”
Trump touted the brand new arch undertaking, saying, “There will likely be no facility like this anyplace within the World. Out of the 59 high cities and Capitals, Washington, D.C., IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT DOES NOT HAVE A TRIUMPHAL ARCH, however it’ll now and, by far, the best of all of them!”
FILE PHOTO: A mannequin of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch, on the ultimate day of The Nice American State Truthful on the Nationwide Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 10, 2026.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters
Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch is presently dealing with authorized challenges introduced by some army veterans and preservationists.
The administration acknowledged final week that the arch, which might sit alongside the Potomac River on the foot of Arlington Nationwide Cemetery, would cause “adverse effects” on the setting and views alongside the river. However the administration additionally mentioned these impacts “can’t be totally averted” as a result of the arch’s location is “central to the enterprise.”
A bunch of Vietnam Warfare veterans who’ve sued to dam development of the arch asked a federal decide earlier this month to difficulty a brief restraining order to forestall the administration from shifting ahead with excavation work on the undertaking. The veterans suing over the arch have argued it could hinder views of Arlington Nationwide Cemetery and cannot be constructed with out congressional authorization.
The Nationwide Belief for Historic Preservation, which brought a case towards the administration over the ballroom, mentioned the administration’s rhetoric in regards to the undertaking is hyperbolic bluster, telling the justices final month that Trump is unilaterally overriding Congress and now racing to finish the undertaking “to attempt to outrun judicial assessment.”
