Donald Trump has said his planned 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington will be designed to accommodate large numbers of drones, snipers and ammunition, presenting the controversial project as a military complex in the heart of the US capital.
The president said the structure would be able to “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones”, with snipers positioned on its roof and plaza areas. It would also hold what he described as large quantities of sniper ammunition.
“There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World,” Mr Trump said in a social media post.
The proposed arch would stand in the historic area between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The project has already drawn objections from architects, historians and veterans, while the administration has been attempting to clear its remaining hurdles.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about why a giant arch would need to serve as a drone facility in a region containing a high concentration of military bases and other facilities. The Department of Defence provided no further comment beyond Mr Trump’s post.
The latest justification follows a similar shift in the administration’s defence of a $400 million ballroom project at the White House. Initially presented as a way to accommodate larger social events, the scheme was later described by Mr Trump as a national security necessity because it included a major upgrade to the bunker beneath the demolished East Wing.
National security has also been cited by Mr Trump in support of deploying the military to the US-Mexico border, removing union rights from thousands of federal workers, pausing offshore wind farm construction and exempting oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from protections for endangered whales.
Even before the proposed arch was described as a base for drones and snipers, it had faced scrutiny. A panel whose members were described as Trump allies gave the project preliminary approval earlier this year but recommended significant changes to the plans.
A Federal Aviation Administration hazard study released this week requested that a constant flame be placed at the top of the structure so aircraft could safely pass through one of the country’s busiest airspaces. The arch would be less than a mile from Ronald Reagan National Airport and lie along a flight path.
Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with the Public Citizen Litigation Group, which represents Vietnam War veterans suing to stop the construction, accused Mr Trump of trying to give the project “a veneer of national security justification”.
Mr Sansone said the proposal remained illegal “with or without this concocted justification”, adding that it had “no legal foundation whatsoever unless and until Congress passes a law saying he can build it”.
