The Trump administration on Friday released final plans for President Donald Trump’s 250-foot-tall triumphal arch that do not include drones, snipers or other features of the “military complex” that Trump said he would add to the project.
The National Capital Planning Commission, a federal panel that reviews major construction projects, posted new renderings and accompanying documents provided by the Interior Department, which is overseeing the controversial project. None of the new documents mentions a military purpose for the arch, with officials instead offering information on planned tourist visits and other ceremonial functions.
Asked Friday about the discrepancy between Trump’s announcement about a military complex and the newly posted plans, a White House official disputed that Trump’s plans had changed. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an in-progress project, said that the administration did not plan to release any national security-related information about the project at this stage of review.
The Pentagon referred questions to the White House.
The National Capital Planning Commission, which Trump has stocked with allies, is set to review the final plans for the arch and potentially approve the project at a Nov. 5 hearing. In a project synopsis, the commission said that the administration had changed some aspects of the arch, such as adding a plan to convert a torch held by the planned Lady Liberty statue atop the arch into an “eternal flame.” The new plans also include more changes to the project’s lighting and traffic patterns.
“No other plan elements have changed,” the commission wrote in the synopsis.
Trump on Sept. 20 asserted that he would convert the arch into a “top grade” military complex that will house drones, snipers and ammunition, drawing objections from aviation safety experts, local leaders and advocacy groups who said the announcement raised new legal and safety questions.
Administration officials subsequently told advocates in a meeting about the project that they were unaware of specific plans to convert the arch into a military complex.
The administration plans to begin construction on the arch as soon as the commission approves the project, amid resistance from military veterans, advocacy groups and historic preservationists who say the towering structure will overshadow the nearby cemetery and is too large for the site. A federal judge is weighing whether to halt the project.
The arch would be built in the middle of a traffic circle tucked inside Washington’s boundaries near Arlington National Cemetery. It also would be close to Reagan National Airport; experts warn that drone flights from the arch could pose risks in the airport’s crowded airspace.
Trump and his deputies initially spent nearly a year maintaining that the arch would be a new tourist attraction. His recent claims that the arch would become a military complex resemble his arguments for the need to build a ballroom at the White House. Trump initially said the ballroom was needed to entertain guests but more recently said it was a “desperately needed National Security structure.” That argument became central to the administration’s legal claims that the ballroom must be built.
Veterans groups, historic preservationists and advocates who have urged Trump to move, shrink or halt the project, say Trump’s plan to militarize the arch should mandate a new process to analyze its effect on nearby sites.
“A new or supplemental review would be required,” Rebecca Miller, the executive director of the DC Preservation League, wrote last month to the administration.
Three Vietnam War veterans and a historic preservationist have sued to block the project, saying that the towering arch would harm their experience of visiting the military cemetery.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the Obama administration appointee who is reviewing the veterans’ case, has warned the administration not to abruptly move forward with construction on the arch — as Trump did when demolishing the White House’s East Wing to build his ballroom without seeking approval from federal review panels or from Congress.
Trump officials have rejected efforts to stop the arch by saying that the project has not formally begun. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — who has publicly touted plans to build the arch — has said that he has not approved it.
“A final decision on the undertaking will not be made until the National Capital Planning Commission completes its review,” Burgum wrote in an Oct. 9 letter to the commission made public Friday.
Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
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