President Donald Trump announced Sept. 20 that his new 250-foot-tall triumphal arch across the Potomac River from the U.S. Capitol will also serve as a military complex.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that the arch will utilize drones and snipers on both the roof and plaza areas, in addition to housing sniper ammunition in storage. He said the U.S. military "requested" the move, though he did not immediately cite which officials, adding that "there will be no facility like this anywhere in the World."
The arch, a part of a pending lawsuit, 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
Pool near the Lincoln Memorial.
"Out of the 59 top cities and Capitals, Washington, D.C., IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT DOES NOT HAVE A TRIUMPHAL ARCH, but it will now and, by far, the greatest of them all!" Trump said on social media.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia, represents the district where the arch would 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 they believe Republicans will get crushed in November," Beyer said. "This project is not even close to being ready for prime time."
Burgum announced Sept. 3 that construction would begin on the arch in the subsequent two-week period. In April, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the National Park Service to provide two weeks' notice before "commencement of construction, or demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch on Memorial Circle."
A group of three veterans and a historian filed a lawsuit in February opposed to the arch and argued that Congress hadn't authorized it. The opponents said the arch would be larger than the Lincoln Memorial and disrupt the view across Memorial Bridge to the cemetery, which was designed to represent the unification of the country after the Civil War.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says his triumphal arch will also serve as a 'military complex'
