ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Rep. Don Beyer said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's plan to turn his proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery into a base for drones and snipers would put a drone launch site in the landing path for Reagan National Airport, and called the idea "stupid, dangerous, and unworkable."
Trump announced the change Sunday on Truth Social. "At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes," he wrote, he had agreed to convert the arch into a "top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch" that would "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."
"There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World," Trump wrote.
The Pentagon told The Associated Press it had no information beyond the president's statement.
It is not the first time Trump has tied one of his Washington building projects to security. He has also called the new White House ballroom a "military complex" and argued it is necessary for national security purposes, the AP reported.
What Beyer said
Beyer, a Democrat whose district includes Alexandria, National Airport and Arlington National Cemetery, said the Federal Aviation Administration would have to redo its safety review if the arch became a drone site.
The FAA issued a determination Friday that the arch would pose no hazard to air navigation, clearing an aviation hurdle for the project. Beyer said that review did not contemplate drones. He also objected to the determination's requirement that the arch carry a continuously floodlit "eternal flame" in place of the flashing red obstruction lights the FAA had previously called for.
Storing sniper ammunition at the site, he said, would put a weapons cache near thousands of tourists, pedestrians, cyclists and commuters on major roads and Metro's Blue Line, and would require every prior impact study to be redone.
Beyer said he did not believe the president was serious about the military use, and that Trump was invoking national security to push construction forward in the face of legal challenges, as he had with the White House ballroom.
The project and the fight over it
The administration has proposed the 250-foot arch for Memorial Circle, the traffic circle at the Virginia end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, to mark the nation's 250th anniversary. It would stand about twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial.
The administration says it does not need congressional approval because Congress authorized a similar project near the site a century ago. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has called it "the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck" and said it would honor the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery.
A National Park Service assessment found the arch would adversely affect dozens of historic sites, including Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington Memorial Bridge, the Lincoln Memorial and George Washington Memorial Parkway. The administration has said those effects cannot be fully avoided because the location is central to the project. More than 100,000 people submitted comments during the Park Service review.
Three veterans and an architectural historian have sued to block the arch, arguing it cannot be built without congressional approval. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin ordered the government to give the court 48 hours' notice before any activity on Memorial Circle.
"The President's belated efforts to manufacture a national security justification for this project do nothing to cure its fundamental illegality," Nicolas Sansone, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the AP.
The arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all appointed by Trump. The National Capital Planning Commission approved the site and preliminary plans in July but has not given final approval, and is expected to take up the project again this fall. Groundbreaking had been expected this month.
Beyer has introduced the Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act, which would prohibit construction of the arch, and has raised concerns about its effect on regional traffic. His parents, grandparents and sister are buried at Arlington.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
