Trump says proposed triumphal arch will double as military complex

By Logan Schiciano, Sunlen Serfaty, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Sunday provided a new reason to justify his proposal to build a 250-foot triumphal arch directly across Arlington National Cemetery, saying the structure would double as a “top grade Military Complex.”

The facility on what military veterans argue overlooks hallowed ground would “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World,” Trump added in the announcement, which multiple sources working with the administration on the project said caught them by surprise.

The proposed arch is among several projects Trump is pursuing in DC in an effort to remake the nation’s capital in his image, prompting legal battles from preservationists and others. The idea of the arch being needed for national security purposes mirrors an argument Trump has made for building a White House ballroom where the East Wing once stood.

The arch’s proposed location in a traffic circle near a bridge that connects Washington, DC, with Virginia has been heavily criticized. Veterans suing to stop its construction argue that the towering structure that would include an observation deck that would disrupt the sightline from the Lincoln Memorial to the Arlington cemetery and Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee memorial.

It’s unclear how the president’s new version of the plan will affect the project’s approval process. It was not included in any of the designs or concepts that went through the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) or the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the two key federal agencies which oversee architecture and design changes in DC.

“The plan for the Arch the President is announcing is a completely different one than what the government has presented thus far,” Ed Stierli, of the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association told CNN, “The location is reckless, it’s already deeply unpopular with veterans and the public, and regardless of what is inside of the Arch, it still has to follow the law.”

The original design for the arch has already been given final approval by the CFA. The administration has signaled that they are eyeing final approval from NCPC during their November meeting.

A Section 106 review, a necessary step in the process required for agencies to consider how projects will affect historical properties, is still not completed.

Even so, the administration has signaled they intend to fast-track Section 106 approval by asking consulting parties to sign onto a draft Memorandum of Agreement that emerged last week.

But the revised plans have not been reviewed by the public, as the previous plans had, receiving a massive amount of feedback. A source involved in the effort noted the public should be much more concerned now if munitions and explosives are potentially being stored in the middle of a busy traffic circle.

CNN has reached out to the White House for more details about Trump’s latest version of the plan. The Pentagon declined to comment. The Trump administration in recent weeks has ramped up its arguments for the project to be built.

A report released by the National Park Service last month found that the arch would have “adverse” effects on dozens of historical landmarks and that it would alter the “design continuity” of iconic Washington settings and views of surrounding monuments.

However, that same report found that the arch must stay at the proposed site on the banks of the Potomac River as the project is “inherently location dependent” and “not interchangeable” with any other placement.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on September 3 that excavation work would begin “over the next two-week period,” though government lawyers seemed to backtrack a day later, saying in a court filing what’s currently planned is archeological survey work that’s needed to “ensure compliance with statutes such as the National Historic Preservation Act.”

CNN has not observed any visible work taking place at the site.

Plans for the arch cleared a significant hurdle last week when the Federal Aviation Administration said that the structure will not interfere with aircraft flying into the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, an early concern opponents had.

Trump’s stated intention to have the arch bolster US military operations is similar to his legal justification for building of the White House ballroom, which he has said will also feature military and national security components.

But Trump began messaging the ballroom as a national security necessity in late February, only after the project began facing legal challenges. The Supreme Court said last month that construction on the ballroom could move forward.

The Trump administration appeared to be moving toward characterizing the arch in a similar way in August, when the National Parks Service quietly began referring to the planned observation deck on top of the structure as a “military observation deck” instead of one meant for tourists. That slight change in rhetoric was made without an announcement.

This story has been updated with additional detail.

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