Veterans 'Appalled' at How Trump's 250-Foot Arch Would Disrupt Arlington Cemetery Burials

VoteVets and Home of the Brave are campaigning against the planned arch, which will sit at Memorial Circle in Washington D.C. near 400,000 graves.

A group of veterans has warned that President Donald Trump's planned "Triumphal Arch" could disrupt burials at Arlington Cemetery, where more than 400,000 American soldiers are buried.

Earlier this year, the president said he intended to build a 250-foot arch in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary. It would, upon completion, overlook the Potomac River between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. It is expected to take two to three years to complete.

The proposed project's announcement initially attracted ire from veterans, including a group of Vietnam veterans who is suing the president, believing the arch will obstruct views of Arlington National Cemetery.

Now, Democratic-aligned groups VoteVets and Home of the Brave have stepped up their anti-arch campaign. In a video released Tuesday, members condemned the plans based on the proximity to the burial grounds and the perceived negative impact it would have on individuals and families memorializing loved ones.

“Some ground isn’t for building on,” VoteVets said in a collective statement. “Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 400,000 service members and their families. A 250-foot arch, with a tourist observation deck, would go up at its entrance, changing that ground forever.”

Veteran Opposition

Paul Eaton, a retired major general and VoteVets adviser, said in the video that the project is "entirely inappropriate and borders on sacrilege to the men and women buried" at the cemetery.

The arch would be 86 feet taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and comes amid Trump making a series of changes to D.C., including cosmetic changes to the Oval Office and other Washington landmarks.

Karen Meridith, a Gold Star mother whose son is buried at Arlington, said in the video that she was "appalled" by the project.

“We don’t need tourists overlooking funerals. I’m just appalled,” Meredith said. “We need everybody to speak out about this.”

Burgum: Work to Soon Begin on Arch

Despite vocal opposition and legal action, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Friday on X that work on the monument is slated to begin within the next two weeks.

“This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World,” Burgum wrote.

“Despite Congress’s intent, the site became and remains today a barren traffic circle lacking any monumental treatment and significant historic value,” he added. “In fact, the passage extending from Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery was meant to serve as an Avenue of Heroes.”

Also on Friday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the Trump administration to provide 48 hours’ notice before engaging in any work activity on the site of where the triumphal arch is intended to be constructed, except for work to identify underground cultural artifacts, according to Reuters.

Lawyers for a group of three military veterans and an architectural historian who brought forward the initial lawsuit said the administration has “no legal basis for the construction work," arguing that the arch violates federal law and needs approval from Congress.

The National Capital Planning Commission has not yet approved the project.

Democrats have argued the Trump administration needs congressional approval for it to move forward, in an argument similarly made about other Trump so-called vanity projects like the White House ballroom that may be subsidized by American taxpayers.

Eaton advised concerned veterans to reach out to their lawmakers to voice their opposition.