Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who lost both legs serving in the Iraq War, accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of dishonoring America’s fallen troops by pursuing a 250-foot triumphal arch at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. In a post on X, she called him a “five-time draft dodger” and said veterans would not allow the project to go forward. The post came hours after she stood with veterans and lawmakers at the arch’s planned site, in the latest escalation of a fight over one of the most contested monuments in Washington.
The Post
Duckworth published the statement at 4:50 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2026. It reads in full:
“Arlington Cemetery is hallowed ground. A final resting place for our fallen heroes who were brave enough to serve.
How dare this five-time draft dodger dishonor them by trying to erect a monument to his own vanity?
Veterans will not let him get away with it.”
The senator’s post does not name the project, but it refers to the arch Trump has championed for Memorial Circle. The circle is a roundabout beside the Arlington Memorial Bridge, near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial. The structure would stand at the cemetery’s gateway rather than within its grounds. Critics say its scale and symbolism would intrude on the setting of the burial ground.
Duckworth at Memorial Circle
Earlier Thursday, Duckworth joined a rally at the site organized by the advocacy group Public Citizen. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia and retired service members attended, and protesters carried signs reading “Veterans Over Vanity.” “How dare this coward erect a monument to his own vanity, his own ego,” Duckworth told the crowd.
Duckworth rejected the administration’s security rationale for the structure. “This arch is not about national security. It’s about Trump’s personal insecurities,” she said, adding that the project makes the flying public less safe. She said money set aside for the arch should instead go to Defense Department schools, veterans’ health care and mental health services for veterans.
What Trump Is Building Beside Arlington
The arch is meant to mark America’s 250th anniversary. Trump has said he wants it to be the biggest arch in the world, well above the 164-foot Arc de Triomphe in Paris, telling an audience in January, “I’d like it to be the biggest one of all.” Renderings released by the administration show a gold, winged statue of Lady Liberty at its top and an inscription reading “One Nation Under God.”
Last month, Trump expanded the plan. In a Sunday social media post, he wrote that he would convert the monument into a “top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch” to house and launch large numbers of drones, with snipers on the roof and plaza and large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage. Aviation experts have warned that the arch’s height and potential use as a drone platform would endanger flights around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A Pentagon official referred Newsweek to Trump’s statement and offered no further explanation.
The Legal Fight
Three Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian sued in February, arguing that federal law requires congressional approval for commemorative works in the nation’s capital. Their complaint says the arch would block the historic reciprocal views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, and that the administration had not submitted anything to the Federal Aviation Administration’s airspace review. The administration says it does not need new approval from Congress and cites a 1925 plan authorized by lawmakers to build columns near the site. Those columns were never built.
The dispute sharpened in early September. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced Sept. 3 on X that excavation work would begin within two weeks. The next day, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the administration to give 48 hours’ notice before any activity at the site, except work to identify underground cultural artifacts. The government told the court it planned four “test pits” starting on or after Sept. 21 and would restore the site by Oct. 31. Under an April agreement, it must give 14 days’ notice before construction begins.
Justice Department lawyers asked the court to dismiss the case, citing a Supreme Court ruling that a preservation group lacked standing to challenge Trump’s White House ballroom. The administration is targeting Nov. 5 for final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission. Public Citizen says briefing in the lawsuit is complete, leaving the matter with the court.
The administration has defended the project. It maintains the arch can legally proceed and describes it as a tribute to military service and the 250th anniversary. A White House spokesman has said it would improve the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery. Rep. Mike Simpson, an Idaho Republican and senior appropriator, said last month he would not support using Pentagon funds for the arch.
Duckworth’s Record on the Arch
Thursday’s remarks followed a letter Duckworth sent Sept. 25. Addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, it demanded they reject the military-complex plan: “The FAA and DoD must reject this foolhardy plan.” She asked the FAA whether it had received any request for drone operations near Memorial Circle, and asked Hegseth which military entity, if any, had requested the conversion. She called the plan “particularly outrageous” given what she described as the agencies’ failure to implement NTSB recommendations after the January 2025 midair collision near Reagan National that killed 67 people.
Duckworth is the ranking member of the Senate aviation subcommittee. Her letter accused the agencies of devoting attention to “stroke President Trump’s fragile ego.” Earlier this year, she wrote to Bedford urging the FAA to reject pressure to rubber-stamp the project, calling it a “gaudy and disgraceful arch.”
Her criticism of Trump’s treatment of Arlington predates the arch. In a statement on her Senate website responding to an earlier episode at the cemetery, she said Trump had “no idea what it means to serve anything greater than himself.” She also pointed to 2020 legislation she introduced to bar a president or vice president who never served in uniform from burial at Arlington. It followed an Army decision to widen burial eligibility to all presidents and vice presidents regardless of military service.
The Draft Record Behind the “Five-Time” Charge
Duckworth’s phrase refers to Trump’s Vietnam-era draft history. Trump received five deferments from the Vietnam War draft. Four were for college study, and the fifth was a medical deferment after a doctor signed off on bone spurs in his heels. After graduating from the Wharton School, he went to work for his father’s real estate business rather than entering the draft. Trump has said the bone spur was temporary.
What Comes Next
The arch’s future now rests with Chutkan’s pending decision and the planning commission’s expected vote. Duckworth has said she will keep fighting for veterans and military families. Beyer noted that more than 430,000 people who served the country are buried at Arlington. Whether the arch rises at the cemetery’s doorstep will likely be decided in court and at the commission over the coming weeks.