Politics

Trump Announces New National Security Role For Planned Triumphal Arch Project

Harrison Design Rendering of Independence Arch [Screenshot/Public/CFA.gov]

Though construction has not yet started, President Donald Trump announced Sunday his planned Triumphal Arch project would take on a key national security role.

“At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, at the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch, to 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,” the president posted on Truth Social.

“There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World. 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! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he concluded.

After teasing it in October 2025, Trump has continued to promote his vision for a 250-foot triumphal arch situated between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The arch will “celebrate the triumphs of the American people, inspire patriotism and love of country, and beautify our nation’s capital,” the Department of the Interior, as its sponsor, declared in its project materials.

The arch is currently awaiting final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), a federal review panel dominated by Trump appointees. The Commission had been chaired by William Scharf, Trump’s staff secretary who has since been appointed White House counsel, effective Sept. 1. Trump appointed Mark Paolettal, the general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget, as well as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to be the new NCPC chairman on Aug. 26. It does not currently appear that NCPC will consider the project for final approval at its Oct. 1 meeting.

Meanwhile, the project is the subject of a lawsuit filed in February by Public Citizen, a left-wing group — partly funded by leftist billionaire George Soros — which advertises itself as an advocate for consumer protection and government transparency.

Among the lawsuit’s plaintiffs are three Vietnam War veterans and diplomats who object to the proposed arch. They argue the arch “would dishonor their military and foreign service and the legacy of their comrades and other veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery,” as well as “degrade their personal experience” when traveling through and observing the area.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had announced Sept. 3 that the administration was “preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck.”

We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World.

— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) September 3, 2026

Subsequently, on Sept. 8, Judge Tanya Chutkan, a 2013 appointee of President Barack Obama for the District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered, and then reconfirmed, that the Trump administration must provide 48 hours’ notice — as well as up to 14 days for larger actions — and obtain final federal and local approvals before any construction or major excavation can begin.