The final site plans for President Trump's proposed 250-foot triumphal arch, submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, do not include the military complex he had previously touted, according to documents filed by the Interior Department.
In late September, Trump announced that the structure, planned for the area between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, would feature a "top grade military complex" housing drones, snipers, and ammunition. He said the addition came at the military's "strong request," though it was not part of the original design.
The latest proposal, shared with the planning commission ahead of its Nov. 5 review, omits those military elements but does incorporate other recent adjustments, such as the Federal Aviation Administration's recommended eternal flame. The omission has raised questions about whether the administration is scaling back its ambitions or simply keeping security details under wraps.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post that Trump's plans for the arch have not changed. Instead, the official said, the administration does not intend to publicly release information related to national security at this stage. The Post, which first reported on the final site plan, also cited Interior Department spokesperson Katie Martin, who said the current designs are capable of accommodating national security functions and more.
The Hill has reached out to the Interior Department for further comment.
The proposal to militarize the arch has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers, including Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), whose district includes Arlington and the National Cemetery. Beyer has highlighted the danger of placing a drone launch site directly in the flight path of aircraft approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"Trump's notion to make his vanity arch an ammunition depot for 'snipers' in a location where snipers have never been needed would place a large weapons cache within feet of thousands of tourists, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers on major commuter traffic thoroughfares and Metro's Blue Line," Beyer said in a statement.
The FAA has concluded that the arch itself would not pose a risk to airspace, according to a project evaluation published last month. However, Beyer argued that the review did not account for the presence of military drones, which could create new hazards.
John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, was blunt in his assessment, calling the idea "not just wrong, it's gonzo bonkers, it's just completely divorced from reality." He noted that the arch would sit in the middle of a traffic circle, adding, "I don't know what it's defending against."
The omission of military features from the final plans may be an attempt to avoid further controversy, but it also raises questions about the project's true scope and the administration's transparency. With the planning commission set to review the plans next month, the fate of the arch remains uncertain, and the debate over its purpose continues to simmer.
