The Trump administration is using the pretext of national security to turn Washington into a military fortress

The administration of US President Donald Trump is increasingly relying on national security arguments to reshape parts of Washington, D.C., in line with the president's desires, and to create a buffer zone surrounding him.

Either the administration is actually concerned about an armed invasion or wary of a possible attack - at a time when the president has started a war and ordered the kidnapping of the head of another country - or it is looking for justifications to spend taxpayer money on projects to which Trump pays special attention.

The concept of national security is a broad umbrella of presidential authority. Trump has tried to use it to justify tariffs, deportations, extrajudicial attacks on boats allegedly involved in drug trafficking, and his expansionist ambitions toward the island of Greenland, among many other things.

Now, the pretext of national security has turned the capital into something like an impenetrable fortress.

The celebration hall turns into a "military complex"

First, the nature of the East Wing project changed from being a mere ballroom setting to becoming a massive underground military facility.

The security requirements were used to justify a request to allocate about $400 million in taxpayer money for the project, despite an earlier promise from Trump that the funding would be private.

Forces will be deployed in the streets

The deployment period for National Guard forces - which are heavily present in tourist areas - has been extended until the end of Trump's term, which will cost an additional $1.4 billion, according to estimates provided by the Pentagon to lawmakers. This amount is in addition to the hundreds of millions already spent on this step.

Snipers and marches at the Arc de Triomphe

According to the president's social media post, the “Arc de Triomphe” that Trump wants to build will serve a dual function; It will serve as a sniper site, a weapons warehouse, and a drone base.

Journalists pose a 'threat to national security'

The Justice Department is defending the president's decision to expel CNN, MSNBC and Politico reporters from the White House, arguing in court that reporting on the ballroom project and the war on Iran may pose a national security risk.

The presidential residence is considered one of the safest sites on Earth, and includes a shelter to protect against nuclear radiation and a command center since the 1940s.

Presidents have long relied on national security to justify their actions and expand their powers, in large part because the courts have been reluctant to stand in their way on the matter.

The conservative Supreme Court justices embraced the idea that a new east wing should be built immediately for security reasons and held that a citizen interested in history had no justification for filing a lawsuit, in part because of the risk of attack.

“The Secretary of the Army claims, for example, that the height and mass of the intended above-ground ballroom are critical to protecting the intended underground military facility from kinetic shocks, and that without such height and mass, engineers would be forced to dig to impractical depths,” the court’s decision said.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's liberal justices in claiming the construction was likely illegal. Without mentioning national security, he pointed out that Congress did not authorize construction or allocate the necessary funds to finance it, as stipulated by law.

Walls from the north and south.

In addition to the military complex located below the eastern wing, the buffer zone surrounding the building has expanded, at least for the time being.

The "Ellipse" arena, located south of the building, has been closed since the UFC match that was held during the summer. The goal appears to be to replant the grass that was damaged by the event, as well as to create a helipad.

Nearby, a large portion of the National Mall area is also closed until 2027 for grass and tree maintenance, according to the National Park Service.

As for Lafayette Square, located north of the building, it was surrounded by a fence to make repairs to the fountain. However, the Secret Service kept the area closed while putting forward plans to erect a permanent fence around the park, which is opposed by freedom of expression advocates, stressing the need to keep it a place for gatherings.

The park is scheduled to reopen, according to Secret Service plans presented to the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, but installing the gates will make it easier to close it again.

Recently, the Secret Service stated that the Ellipse and Lafayette squares must remain closed until the end of the month, coinciding with the visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

A sniper site between a cemetery and a river

Reimagining the Arc de Triomphe as a national security priority is the strangest twist on Trump's usual method of invoking national security to achieve his goals.

It does not matter that the site planned for the arch is located in the middle of a traffic circle in the middle of a highway between the Potomac River and Arlington National Cemetery, and is surrounded by numerous military sites, including the Pentagon.

When the plans were presented to the National Capital Planning Commission, which had become crowded with Trump supporters, the facility was described as a public space rather than a military site. Plans now appear to be changing, at least according to Trump's social media post.

On Sunday, Trump described the Arc as “a first-class military complex, dedicated to housing and storing large numbers of drones and the ability to use them quickly, as well as providing sniper sites on the roof and in the courtyards, and storing large quantities of sniper ammunition.”

This type of defensive capability appears appropriate for repelling attacks, not for maintaining law and order.

"Trojan Horse" or "Arch of Triumph"?

John Miller, CNN's senior law enforcement and intelligence analyst, noted that US law prohibits the use of the military against US citizens; So, who exactly are these snipers who will protect the city?

He explained that the D.C. Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and many other agencies have SWAT teams within the city, making the need for an “arch of triumph” equipped with military equipment puzzling.

Miller said Monday: “It cannot really be considered a Trojan horse because the secret has already been revealed. Any foreign adversary that might target Washington will know what this building is, what it contains, and where its targeting points are located.”

The height of the arch will reach 250 feet, a height that remains safe for air traffic heading to the nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which recently granted approval for the project, although the green light it granted did not address the issue of military drones or snipers.

Let us all hope that the United States never reaches a point where military snipers point their weapons across the river from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Military spending is a "priority"

The administration has prioritized national security spending; Trump has promised to create a missile defense shield known as the “Golden Dome” to protect the United States from any potential missile attack.

This shield was designed similar to the Israeli "Iron Dome" system, but the difference in size and area between the United States and Israel makes the matter complicated and raises the cost to astronomical levels.

This defense shield is also one of the reasons why Trump wants to significantly increase military spending, to about $1.5 trillion - an increase of about 40% - although Congress has not yet approved this jump in the budget.

Washington was previously attacked when the British sacked the city in 1814, and al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and crashed one of them into the Pentagon in 2001.

However, the size and geography of the United States make the idea of imposing any kind of siege on the city unthinkable.

Trump and some of his supporters have described the influx of migrants into the United States as an "invasion," but there is no evidence to suggest that Washington is at risk of attack.

However, the risks that presidents face often come from within; Trump was subjected to assassination attempts, and in 2020 - during his first term - he was hastily transferred to the fortified bunker in the White House amid tense protests in Lafayette Square.

The fact that these threats exist contributes to enabling Trump to employ the requirements of national security to achieve what he currently seeks, even if he did not present this argument until after the planning work for the ballroom and arch had progressed a long way.