How National Security Became Central to Trump’s D.C. Construction Projects
The President’s new plan for a militarized triumphal arch echoes the national-security rationale used to defend construction of the White House ballroom.
President Donald Trump recently announced that his proposed "triumphal arch" near Washington, D.C., will be transformed into a military complex equipped with drones, ammunition storage, and sniper facilities. The arch, 250 feet tall, will serve as a military installation to "house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones," according to Trump. This announcement comes almost a year after he unveiled a model of the arch in the Oval Office.
Trump maintains that the arch is significant because it is the only capital city in the world without a triumphal arch. He claims that the changes to the plan for the arch were made at the "strong request of the United States Military" for "National Security purposes." However, the President's post did not provide any further details about the security role the militarized arch would play in Washington.
The announcement echoes Trump's previous justification for other construction projects, such as the White House ballroom. In the ballroom case, the administration argued that the ballroom and the underground military facility beneath it constituted a single, integrated project, which was vital to national security. The Supreme Court recently stayed an injunction that would have halted construction, allowing it to proceed while the government seeks further review.
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