2026-09-20T12:10:59.362Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/20/politics/trump-dc-arch-military-complex
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周日为其在阿灵顿国家公墓正对面建造一座250英尺高凯旋门的提案给出了新理由，称该建筑将兼作“顶级军事基地”。
特朗普在Truth Social的帖子中写道，这座将建在退伍军人认为俯瞰圣地的设施将“容纳、储存大批无人机和狙击手，并可快速在屋顶和广场区域投入使用，此外还将储存大量狙击弹药”。
“世界上没有任何设施能与这座相媲美，”特朗普在声明中补充道。据多名参与该项目的政府消息人士透露，这一说法让他们措手不及。
这座拟建拱门是特朗普为重塑美国首都形象而在华盛顿推进的多个项目之一，引发了保护主义者和其他人士的法律诉讼。将拱门用于国家安全目的的说法，与特朗普为在东翼原址修建白宫宴会厅提出的论点如出一辙。
拟建拱门位于连接华盛顿特区与弗吉尼亚州的一座桥梁附近的环岛内，这一选址遭到了猛烈批评。提起诉讼阻止该建筑建造的退伍军人指出，这座高耸建筑将设有观景台，破坏林肯纪念堂望向阿灵顿公墓和罗伯特·E·李纪念地阿灵顿宅邸的视线。
目前尚不清楚总统的新版计划将如何影响该项目的审批流程。在参与审批的两个关键联邦机构——美国美术委员会（CFA）和国家首都规划委员会（NCPC）的所有设计方案中，均未提及这一内容，这两家机构负责监管华盛顿的建筑和设计变更。
“总统宣布的拱门计划与政府此前提交的方案完全不同，”非营利组织国家公园保护协会的埃德·斯蒂尔利告诉CNN，“选址极其鲁莽，已经遭到退伍军人和公众的强烈反对，无论拱门内部用途如何，它都必须遵守法律。”
拱门的原始设计已经获得美国美术委员会的最终批准。政府方面已暗示，有望在11月的会议上获得国家首都规划委员会的最终批准。
第106条审查程序尚未完成，这是各机构评估项目对历史遗迹影响的必要步骤。
即便如此，政府已表示打算加快第106条审查的审批进度，要求咨询方签署上周出台的协议备忘录草案。
但与此前的方案不同，修订后的计划并未经过公众评议。此前的方案曾收到大量反馈。一位参与相关工作的消息人士指出，如果弹药和爆炸物可能被储存在繁忙的环岛中央，公众现在理应更加担忧。
CNN已联系白宫，寻求有关特朗普最新版计划的更多细节。五角大楼拒绝置评。特朗普政府近几周加大了为该项目辩护的力度。
国家公园管理局上月发布的一份报告发现，该拱门将对数十处历史地标产生“不利”影响，并将改变华盛顿标志性景观和周边纪念碑视野的“设计连贯性”。
但同一份报告还指出，拱门必须建在波托马克河沿岸的拟建地点，因为该项目“本质上依赖特定位置”，“无法与其他任何选址互换”。
内政部长道格·伯根9月3日表示，挖掘工作将“在未来两周内启动”，但政府律师一天后似乎改口，在一份法庭文件中称，目前计划开展的是考古勘探工作，以“确保符合《国家历史保护法》等法规的要求”。
CNN未在现场观察到任何明显的施工活动。
上周，联邦航空管理局表示该建筑不会干扰飞往附近罗纳德·里根华盛顿国家机场的航班，为拱门计划扫清了一项重大障碍，这也是反对者此前的主要担忧之一。
特朗普称拱门将助力美国军事行动，这与他为修建白宫宴会厅提供的法律依据类似。他曾表示该宴会厅也将包含军事和国家安全相关设施。
但特朗普是在2月下旬该项目开始面临法律挑战后，才将宴会厅宣传为国家安全必需项目。最高法院上月裁定，宴会厅的建设可以继续推进。
特朗普政府似乎在8月份就开始尝试以类似方式为拱门定性，当时国家公园管理局悄然将建筑顶部计划中的观景台称为“军事观景台”，而非面向游客的观景台。这一措辞的细微调整并未对外公布。
本文已补充更多细节更新。
Trump says proposed triumphal arch will double as military complex
2026-09-20T12:10:59.362Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/20/politics/trump-dc-arch-military-complex
President Donald Trump on Sunday provided a new reason to justify his proposal to build a 250-foot triumphal arch directly across Arlington National Cemetery, saying the structure would double as a “top grade Military Complex.”
The facility on what military veterans argue overlooks hallowed ground 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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World,” Trump added in the announcement, which multiple sources working with the administration on the project said caught them by surprise.
The proposed arch is among several projects Trump is pursuing in DC in an effort to remake the nation’s capital in his image, prompting legal battles from preservationists and others. The idea of the arch being needed for national security purposes mirrors an argument Trump has made for building a White House ballroom where the East Wing once stood.
The arch’s proposed location in a traffic circle near a bridge that connects Washington, DC, with Virginia has been heavily criticized. Veterans suing to stop its construction argue that the towering structure that would include an observation deck that would disrupt the sightline from the Lincoln Memorial to the Arlington cemetery and Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee memorial.
It’s unclear how the president’s new version of the plan will affect the project’s approval process. It was not included in any of the designs or concepts that went through the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) or the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the two key federal agencies which oversee architecture and design changes in DC.
“The plan for the Arch the President is announcing is a completely different one than what the government has presented thus far,” Ed Stierli, of the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association told CNN, “The location is reckless, it’s already deeply unpopular with veterans and the public, and regardless of what is inside of the Arch, it still has to follow the law.”
The original design for the arch has already been given final approval by the CFA. The administration has signaled that they are eyeing final approval from NCPC during their November meeting.
A Section 106 review, a necessary step in the process required for agencies to consider how projects will affect historical properties, is still not completed.
Even so, the administration has signaled they intend to fast-track Section 106 approval by asking consulting parties to sign onto a draft Memorandum of Agreement that emerged last week.
But the revised plans have not been reviewed by the public, as the previous plans had, receiving a massive amount of feedback. A source involved in the effort noted the public should be much more concerned now if munitions and explosives are potentially being stored in the middle of a busy traffic circle.
CNN has reached out to the White House for more details about Trump’s latest version of the plan. The Pentagon declined to comment. The Trump administration in recent weeks has ramped up its arguments for the project to be built.
A report released by the National Park Service last month found that the arch would have “adverse” effects on dozens of historical landmarks and that it would alter the “design continuity” of iconic Washington settings and views of surrounding monuments.
However, that same report found that the arch must stay at the proposed site on the banks of the Potomac River as the project is “inherently location dependent” and “not interchangeable” with any other placement.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on September 3 that excavation work would begin “over the next two-week period,” though government lawyers seemed to backtrack a day later, saying in a court filing what’s currently planned is archeological survey work that’s needed to “ensure compliance with statutes such as the National Historic Preservation Act.”
CNN has not observed any visible work taking place at the site.
Plans for the arch cleared a significant hurdle last week when the Federal Aviation Administration said that the structure will not interfere with aircraft flying into the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, an early concern opponents had.
Trump’s stated intention to have the arch bolster US military operations is similar to his legal justification for building of the White House ballroom, which he has said will also feature military and national security components.
But Trump began messaging the ballroom as a national security necessity in late February, only after the project began facing legal challenges. The Supreme Court said last month that construction on the ballroom could move forward.
The Trump administration appeared to be moving toward characterizing the arch in a similar way in August, when the National Parks Service quietly began referring to the planned observation deck on top of the structure as a “military observation deck” instead of one meant for tourists. That slight change in rhetoric was made without an announcement.
This story has been updated with additional detail.