Trump says monumental arch in Washington, DC will also be military complex

President Donald Trump has said a planned triumphal arch in Washington, DC, will serve a dual role as a military complex, adding storage for drones and space for sniper deployment on its roof and plaza, as well as large quantities of sniper ammunition. Trump framed the alteration as a response to a military request and a matter of national security. He did not provide technical or design details when announcing the change on his social media platform.

The arch was first proposed by Trump last year as a commemoration of 250 years of US independence and was envisioned as a towering structure similar in concept to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Earlier design proposals described a 76-metre (250-foot) arch that would stand above many existing Washington landmarks, a scale that has prompted contestation given local height restrictions and the capital's historic vistas.

Opposition to the project has been sustained and multifaceted. In February, three Vietnam War veterans sued, arguing the arch would obstruct the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery — a sightline they described as a deliberate symbol of national reunification after the Civil War — and that any major new monument requires congressional approval. The Trump-appointed US Commission of Fine Arts approved a design in April featuring golden lion statues at the base and eagles and a winged angel atop a baroque-style arch. The Federal Aviation Administration recently said the arch would not pose a hazard to Reagan National Airport but would require a warning beacon on its summit.

The arch is one of several contentious projects in the capital tied to Trump. Thousands protested moves affecting the Kennedy Center after Trump threatened to demolish or alter the venue if his naming demands were not met, and historic-preservation groups challenged a separate $400m White House East Wing redevelopment to create a roughly 8,400 sq m (90,000 sq ft) ballroom with an underground bunker. The Supreme Court recently allowed that ballroom construction to proceed, and Trump has likewise characterized that project as a "military complex."