US judge pushes back on Trump arch 'national security' argument

A US federal judge on Friday pushed back on government assertions that President Donald Trump's planned massive arch in Washington is needed for national security.

Trump did not mention national security concerns when first announcing plans to build the 250-foot (76-meter) triumphal white arch, which is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

He said later, however, in a Truth Social post, that it would include a "top grade military complex" that could house drones and snipers.

District Judge Tanya Chutkan noted that the Republican president had also invoked national security in presenting the case for building a White House ballroom to the Supreme Court.

"It doesn't make the use of national security talismanic in this case," Chutkan said. "This is the first time the government has proffered a national security aspect to this case."

Robert Stander, a Justice Department lawyer, said the arch is a "high priority project" for the administration.

The lawsuit being heard by Chutkan was brought by a group of Vietnam War veterans seeking to stop construction of the arch, which could begin as early as next week.

Wendy Liu, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that given its massive size, the arch would obscure the sight lines between the Lincoln Memorial, one of Washington's iconic landmarks, and Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for hundreds of thousands of American servicemembers.

The arch is one of a number of projects launched by Trump in a bid to put his personal stamp on the capital.

They include the ballroom that is being built at the White House, for which Trump had an entire wing of the presidential mansion demolished.

Another is the laborious renovation of the Reflecting Pool, a massive rectangular water basin on the National Mall.

Trump has also proposed revamping the East Potomac Golf Links, a historic waterfront Washington golf course.

That project is the focus of a bitter legal battle: the judge presiding over the case launched an investigation on Friday into whether lawyers for the Trump administration had lied to the court.

For a time, Trump also had his name placed on the walls of the Kennedy Center, the culture and arts institute named after assassinated president John F. Kennedy, before a judge reversed the move.

Chutkan did not make an immediate ruling in the arch case but said she would do so "expeditiously."