Trump’s Illegal Arch Desecrates Line-of-Sight Between Arlington Cemetery and Lincoln Memorial
Protestors call on the administration to stop construction of the “Triumphal Arch”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, Public Citizen protested at Memorial Circle in Washington D.C. alongside several American veterans, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (IL), Rep. Don Beyer (VA-8) and others to call on the Trump administration to stop the construction of a 250-foot arch along the Potomac River.
WATCH THE RECORDED LIVESTREAM HERE.
The arch will impede the symbolic line-of-sight between the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. and Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where hundreds of thousands of our nation’s military members have been laid to rest.
The Trump administration regularly attempts to circumvent the laws that have governed this country for 250 years. Now, as a self-indulgent project, Donald Trump plans to build a 250-foot arch in Memorial Circle without congressional approval – a clear violation of federal law and the Constitution’s separation of powers.
In February, on behalf of multiple Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian, Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to challenge construction of the arch. The parties’ legal arguments have been fully presented to the court, which could rule at any moment.
Trump’s planned construction is not only illegal. It is an affront to American veterans and their families.
“Trump’s arch proposal is nothing but a bombastic vanity project. And even though he has recently added a new attempted justification– national security– we all know the truth, this is simply another gilded and unnecessary expense.” said Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen co-president. “Trump is using any excuse he can think of to get what he wants. What’s more, he plans to use government resources, without Congressional approval, to build an obscenely large, illegal, structure that Americans do not need and do not want. The administration must immediately cease its plans to build this monstrosity of an arch and focus on the needs of the people.”
“My fellow Vietnam veterans, Michael Lemmon and Shaun Byrnes, and I all swore an oath to defend the US Constitution,” said Jon Gundersen, Retired Army Veteran and former Foreign Service Officer and a plaintiff in Public Citizen’s lawsuit. “And unlike Trump, we have upheld that oath. His illegal Arch serves his ego, not the American people. An arch wedged between the line-of-sight of the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument dishonors our veterans and our nation. It is the wrong monument, built in the wrong place without Congress’ say.”
“Trump’s Arch is a monumental mistake. His vanity project distorts our history, destroys historic views, disregards the Constitution’s separation of powers, disrupts the safety of planes in the sky, and desecrates a sacred space honoring the sacrifices of our veterans,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). “The Trump Arch is illegal and a monumentally bad idea. I’ll keep fighting to block this massive waste of taxpayer money.”
“This monstrosity of an arch is just the latest proof that Donald Trump cares more about his self-interest than our national interest,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). “Instead of doing something—anything—to help middle-class families, he’s spending his time on a project that both makes the flying public less safe and disrespects our heroes who are laying in Arlington. This arch is not about national security. It’s about Trump’s personal insecurities. Our families and Veterans deserve better than some vanity project whose gold paint is as fake as the promises he’s made—and broken—to the American people.”
“Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot vanity arch is illegal and faces well-deserved challenges in court that the Administration clearly expects to lose,” said Rep. Don Beyer (VA-8). “The Trump Administration also has not even completed the basic studies needed to understand its full impact on our region, which shows how little they care about good governance or the effects of their terrible decisions on affected communities or public lands. Putting a drone launch site or weapons cache on a towering monument near National Airport, major commuter roads, the Metro, and thousands of pedestrians and tourists is an unacceptable and dangerous threat to public safety. Beyond those reckless safety risks, this monument would be a profound insult to the men and women who faithfully served our country and are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, a group that includes members of my family. Donald Trump is determined to bulldoze his way through the law to honor himself, but we will stop him.”
“I served 26 years in the United States Marine Corps, including combat in Iraq, because I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States—not a president, not a political party, and not any individual,” said Julius D. ‘JD’ Spain, Sr., U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) Member, Arlington County Board. “Memorial Circle and Arlington National Cemetery are sacred places that honor the service and sacrifice of generations of Americans. We have a responsibility to preserve that legacy with humility, respect, and fidelity to the rule of law.”