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Trump says the military asked him to make his planned arch a drone and sniper site
September 21, 2026
Trump said in a Sunday post that the US military asked him to turn his planned Triumphal Arch into a complex for drones, snipers and sniper ammunition.
Trump has proposed a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, one of several building projects in Washington, including a White House ballroom, that face legal challenges.
Key facts
- Construction had been expected to start this month on the arch, which would rise 250 feet over a traffic circle near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington.
- The 250-foot arch Trump has proposed faces lawsuits from preservationists and some military veterans.
- The writer, who once commuted from Arlington into the District and still finds the trip messy, notes that the arch would rise near the approach paths for Reagan National Airport and pile new safety and security problems onto an already overburdened facility.
- The US Commission of Fine Arts, all of whose members Trump appointed, gave the arch an early green light, but three veterans and an architectural historian have sued, arguing that Congress has to sign off on the project.
- The arch plan is the latest case of Trump arguing that his projects to make Washington and the White House more beautiful have a defensive use as well.
AP News reports that Trump, in a Sunday post on social media, said the US military had asked him to rework the planned Triumphal Arch beside Arlington Memorial Bridge into a military complex, with drones and snipers on its roof and plaza and large stocks of sniper ammunition kept inside. AP News presents the announcement as the latest case of Trump insisting that his projects to beautify Washington and the White House also serve a defensive purpose. It reports that the US Commission of Fine Arts, whose members Trump appointed, gave the arch early approval, and that three veterans and an architectural historian have sued on the ground that Congress has to approve it. AP News also carries a post on X in which Representative Don Beyer calls a drone site in the landing path for Reagan National Airport "a stupid, dangerous, and unworkable idea" and accuses Trump of building a national security pretext because he expects to lose a lawsuit.
ABC News quotes the post at length, reports that Trump attributed the change to a request from the US military, and notes that the 250-foot arch faces court challenges from veterans and preservationists. It adds that the administration has said some of the arch's effects "cannot be fully avoided" because its location is "central to the undertaking." ABC News also reports that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is suing the administration over the White House ballroom, calls the administration's talk about that project hyperbolic bluster, and that last month it told the justices Trump is overriding Congress on his own and hurrying "to try to outrun judicial review." CNN reports that veterans and preservation groups are pursuing a separate court case against the arch. "This activity is not construction, or demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch," lawyers said in a court filing that CNN quotes. The New York Post quotes Trump as adding, "There will be no facility like this anywhere in the world," and reports that work on the arch, set for a traffic circle near Arlington National Cemetery, had been expected to begin this month. AP News likewise puts the planned groundbreaking in this month. The New York Times headline carries Trump's description of the arch as a military site for drones and snipers.
The Atlantic's commentary takes the sharpest line. It treats the change from memorial to armed post as at least partly a legal strategy, suggests Trump may be reaching for national security grounds to quash opposition to the arch, and argues that loading the structure with weapons clashes with honoring the war dead and raises the chance of a mistake or malfunction. It also notes that the arch would sit close to the flight approaches for Reagan National Airport. That tilt is substantive rather than house style: it takes the pretext charge Beyer makes in AP News and turns it into the frame for the whole plan. The accounts agree that the National Capital Planning Commission has given the project only preliminary approval, and AP News reports that the commission cleared the site and the preliminary plans in July and has not given final approval. Trump's post, the military request he cites, the court challenges and the commission's preliminary approval are corroborated, and final approval is still to come.
"This activity is not construction, or demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch," the lawyers said in a court filing.
the lawyers
Still developing
The National Capital Planning Commission has not given the project final approval, and the court challenges from veterans and preservation groups are still open.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- AP News — Trump says his planned arch would become a 'military complex' able to host drones and snipers
- abcnews.com — Trump says 'Triumphal Arch' will be used as a sniper and drone facility - abcnews.com
- CNN — FAA says Trump’s arch wouldn’t interfere with planes at DC airport
- New York Post — Trump says his Triumphal Arch in Washington will be used as ‘top grade’ weapons base with drones and snipers - New York Post
- The Atlantic — Trump’s Monumental Obsession
Toggle read the full reports of 5 of the 6 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.