Former and current second-term U.S. President Donald Trump has announced significant revisions to his long-proposed triumphal arch project, revealing that the iconic structure will now double as a purpose-built military complex capable of deploying armed drones and sniper teams, in a move that blends symbolic national infrastructure with national security functionality.
In a post shared Sunday morning on his Truth Social platform, Trump explained that the revisions to the original design came at the “strong request” of the U.S. military, and that the changes are being made explicitly for “national security purposes.” Describing the combined arch and military facility as “top grade,” Trump detailed that the site will be built to house, store, and rapidly deploy large numbers of drones, while also offering positioned placements for sniper teams on both the structure’s roof and adjacent public plaza. The facility will also include dedicated secured storage for large stockpiles of sniper ammunition, per Trump’s description.
Notably, Trump has so far released no concrete details about construction timelines, budget estimates, or contracting plans for the revised project. It also remains unclear whether the updated plans require additional approval from congressional oversight bodies or federal regulatory agencies. In his post, Trump claimed that “there will be no facility like this anywhere in the World.” He also repeated a longstanding claim that among what he called the 59 top global cities and national capitals, Washington, D.C. is uniquely without a triumphal arch, though he did not elaborate on the list of 59 cities referenced.
The 250-foot (76-meter) structure is planned for a site located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., on land adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. Initial construction was projected to begin this month. Early design renderings released earlier this year show a golden, winged statue of Lady Liberty atop the arch, flanked by two golden eagles. The inscriptions “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” will be featured on either side of the structure, rendered in gold lettering. At 250 feet from base to the peak of the Lady Liberty statue, the structure will tower over the nearby 99-foot Lincoln Memorial and stand half the total height of the 555-foot Washington Monument.
The triumphal arch is just one of several large infrastructure projects Trump has advanced during his second presidential term to reshape the built landscape of the U.S. capital. Other ongoing projects include a gilded renovation of the Oval Office, construction of a new White House ballroom estimated to cost roughly $400 million, a controversial repaving of the historic White House Rose Garden, and renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Of all these projects, the triumphal arch stands out as one of the largest and most ambitious in scope.
The BBC has reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense for comment and additional context on the revised plans, but as of yet has not received a formal response.