Trump Says Proposed DC Triumphal Arch Will Double as 'Military Complex' With Drones and Snipers

President Trump said Sunday, September 20, 2026, that the 250-foot triumphal arch he has proposed building on Columbia Island near the Arlington Memorial Bridge — between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery — will double as a 'top grade Military Complex.' In a Truth Social post, Trump said the facility would 'house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas,' and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage, adding 'there will be no facility like this anywhere in the World.' The military-complex concept was not part of the arch designs previously reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts or the National Capital Planning Commission, catching officials who had been working with the administration by surprise, and comes as the administration prepares to break ground at the site despite ongoing litigation from veterans' groups and preservationists over its legal authority to do so.