Duckworth Demands Pentagon and FAA Kill Trump's Plan to Launch Drones From the Arlington Arch

Sen. Tammy Duckworth is demanding that the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration reject President Trump's plan to turn his planned 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery into a "top grade Military Complex" with snipers and the ability to store, launch and land drones in the approach path of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

"The FAA and DoD must reject this foolhardy plan and instead focus on increasing the safety of the airspace," the Illinois Democrat wrote in a letter sent Friday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. The letter was obtained exclusively by CBS News. Duckworth, who lost both legs while flying Army helicopters in Iraq, is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation.

Trump announced the military complex idea in a Truth Social post last weekend, a shift from the arch's original purpose as a ceremonial monument for the nation's 250th anniversary. Duckworth called the announcement one of the president's "bizarre, unhinged early morning social media rants" and accused officials of "wasting time, energy and taxpayer dollars on yet another Trump vanity project." The FAA concluded last week that the arch, now under construction, poses no hazard to flights into and out of Reagan National. Duckworth called that review "incomplete" and asked whether the agency had considered the structure's use as a military site when it signed off.

Her letter ties the arch to unfinished safety work after the January 2025 midair collision near the airport, when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter struck an American Airlines regional jet on approach and killed 67 people. The National Transportation Safety Board issued 52 recommendations after the crash. Of the 35 directed at the FAA, only three have been closed, and the NTSB said this month that the FAA's responses to 11 of them were unacceptable. All 13 recommendations aimed at the Pentagon remain open. Duckworth called the arch plan "particularly outrageous" in light of what she described as a "joint failure" by both agencies to act on those findings.

"It is disturbing to see Federal officials devote enormous attention to an unnecessary, proposed structure while the NTSB and the public are still demanding action on recommendations intended to prevent another catastrophic collision in our skies," she wrote. "The American people cannot afford to stand witness to Trump's risky plan to place a 250-foot structure along a busy approach path, especially if he follows through on plans to station snipers on the arch and fly drones ... in the already congested airspace."

Duckworth asked Hegseth to disclose "which military entity, if any, requested that the arch be converted into a 'Military Complex,' and what threat assessment supports that request?" She set an Oct. 5 deadline for answers. The FAA and the Defense Department declined to comment and referred questions to the White House.

The senator is not alone in raising alarms. Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat whose district includes the airport, said earlier this week that "putting a drone launching site directly in the landing path for DCA is a stupid, dangerous, and unworkable idea." Excavation for the arch began this month, with crews scheduled to work up to 20 hours a day, and the project has already drawn a lawsuit from Vietnam veterans seeking to block it. Reagan National is one of the busiest airports in the country, and its tight approach corridors over the Potomac River sit close to restricted military and government airspace, which pilots and air traffic controllers have long described as among the most complex in the nation.