Trump says arch to also serve as military complex
By: Jay Stahi
and Bart Jansen
USA Today
..... President Donald Trump announced September 20 [2026] that his new 250-foot-tall triumphal arch across the Potomac River from the U.S. Capitol - part of a pending lawsuit - will also serve as a military complex.
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Trump said in a Truth Social post that the arch will utilize drones and snipper on both the roof and plaza areas, in addition to housing sniper ammunition in storage. He said the U.S. military "requested" the move, through he did not immediately cite which officials, adding that there will be no facility like this way where in the World."
..... The arch is one of several projects Trump has proposed that will change Washington's landscape. His other projects include a granite helipad and controversial ballroom at the White House and a new rendition of the Reflecting Poll near the Lincoln Memorial.
..... "Out of the 59 top cities and Capitals, Washington, D.C. IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD HAT DOES NOT AHVE A TRIUMPHAL ARCH, but it will now and, be are, the greatest of them all!" Trump said on social media.
..... A U.S. military official told Reuters that the Defense Department had nothing to add beyond Trump's social media post. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
..... Trump did not elaborate on why such capabilities would be needed at the arch. His proposed White House ballroom has already been touted as a drone facility to protect washing.
..... Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel, said the move appeared aimed at countering opposition to the arch, which is planed for a traffic circle near Arlington National cemetery, about a mile from Fort Myer, an active Army installation, and roughly 2 miles form the Pentagon.
..... "It looks like it's tacked on in order to strengthen the rationale for construction," Cancian, a senior adviser with the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and iNt4erantial Studies, a Washington-based think tank, told Reuters. "There is this military facility [Fort Myer] long established with a variety of military capabilities one mile away. So why you need this one isn't clear.
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Cancian also said that storing ammunition at the arch wildfowl cerate logistical challenges and questioned the value of positioning snipers there.
..... Representative Don Beyer, D-Virgina, represents the district where the arch outsold be built and previously called the project both illegal and narcissistic. He said the project would significantly increase traffic problems in the area and has also criticized Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the plan.
..... "Burgum and the Trump Administration are disregarding the risks and rushing this towering monument to Trump's vanity because the believe Republicans will get crushed in November," [2026] Beyer said. "This project is not even close to being ready for prime time."
..... Burgum announced September 3 [2026] that construction would begin on the arch in the subsequent two-week period. In April, [2026] U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan order the Nation Park Service to provide two weeks' notice before "commencement of construction, or demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch on Memorial Circle."
..... Contributing Reuters