Veterans move to block President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery: ‘We don’t need tourists overlooking funerals,’ says ‘appalled’ Gold Star mother
Veterans and Gold Star families are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery as the administration moves toward commencing construction. VoteVets, the largest Democratic veterans group in the U.S., launched a campaign on Tuesday, September 8, opposing the project, which has already been plagued by legal challenges. Critics say the monument would disrupt the cemetery’s historic setting and interfere with funerals at one of the nation’s most solemn sites.
Veterans campaign against the arch
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, a VoteVets adviser, said in a campaign video that the project is “entirely inappropriate and borders on sacrilege to the men and women buried” at Arlington.
The proposed Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck would stand at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The 250-foot structure would interrupt the historic sightline connecting the Lincoln Memorial with Arlington House.
“The U.S. Park Service says that construction for this arch will be 20 hours a day for up to three years. Every weekday somebody is buried at Arlington National Cemetery,” Eaton added in his statement.
Gold Star mother objects to observation deck
The campaign video also featured Gold Star mother Karen Meredith, whose son is buried at Arlington. She criticized plans for an observation deck that would allow visitors to look over Washington and the cemetery. “We don’t need tourists overlooking funerals. I’m just appalled,” Meredith said. “We need everybody to speak out about this.”
VoteVets’ campaign is backed by Home of the Brave and the Cultural Landscape Foundation, which are urging the public to oppose construction.
Trump administration moves toward excavation
The campaign came after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that excavation work for Trump’s coveted arch will begin within two weeks. “We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck,” Burgum wrote on social media.
The Trump administration has argued that the arch will honor veterans and mark the nation’s 250th anniversary. However, the project has not received final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission.
Lawsuits seek to halt construction
The pushback has also moved into federal court. Three Vietnam War veterans have asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to block the construction of the arch and military observation deck, arguing the project lacks required congressional authorization and remains subject to federal review.
A judge subsequently ordered the Trump administration to provide 48 hours’ notice before conducting activity at Memorial Circle while the legal challenge proceeds. The administration, meanwhile, has maintained that planned archaeological work is not construction.