Dozens of veterans, lawmakers, and activists gathered Thursday morning at Memorial Circle in Washington, D.C., to protest President Trump’s proposed 250-foot-tall triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

Demonstrators stood beside a tarp mockup of the structure, with organizers emphasizing that the real arch would stand 32 times taller than the symbolic prop erected for the protest.

The event, billed as “Vets over Vanity,” was organized in part by Public Citizen, the group leading a lawsuit filed by Vietnam War veterans against the Trump administration over the proposed structure.

Jon Gundersen, a retired Army veteran and former Foreign Service officer who traveled from South Carolina to speak at the protest, delivered one of the event’s sharpest lines of criticism.

“It’s the wrong monument, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, dedicated to the wrong man,” Gundersen said, adding that “anyone I talk to, whether Republican or Democrat, they say it’s a waste of money and it’s not how you honor vets.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who noted that she and her husband will one day be buried at Arlington, delivered a forceful rebuke of the administration’s handling of the project.

“I am pissed that the five-time draft dodging coward of a commander-in-chief sitting over there in the White House dares to dishonor the men and women of this country who have put on her collars and sacrificed and served and now lay at rest in the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery,” Duckworth said.

The White House has stated that the arch will “enhance the visitor experience” at the cemetery and serve “as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes,” framing it as a tribute rather than a personal monument.

Critics, however, argue that funding for veteran services would be a far more meaningful tribute than a triumphal arch equipped with an observation deck and, more recently, announced military drones and snipers.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., questioned the national security framing from the podium, saying: “Who are the snipers going to shoot — the families at the graves or the tourists at the Lincoln Memorial?”

Beyer also suggested the military complex announcement may be a legal strategy, adding that “Trump thinks he’s going to lose in court, and maybe if he shouts national security, the Supreme Court will care.”

Aviation safety concerns also featured prominently in Thursday’s speeches, as the arch would sit directly along the flight approach path to one of the nation’s busiest airport runways.

The federal review process surrounding the arch suffered a significant setback in late September, when the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation abruptly terminated its historic preservation review after just two meetings.

Charles Birnbaum, head of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, who participated in the now-ended process, described the move as deeply troubling and said it had only happened twice during his 15 years with the National Park Service.

“Projects go to the advisory council when there is a stalemate that people have tried to negotiate with state preservation officers, with stakeholders, and there is an authenticity to that process,” Birnbaum said.

The advisory council is now set to deliver its recommendations directly to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum by October 7, bypassing the broader consultation process that preservation advocates had been engaged in.

The arch is widely expected to come before the National Capital Planning Commission at its next meeting in early November, with the project hurtling toward final federal approval despite mounting opposition.

Julius D. “JD” Spain Sr., a member of the Arlington County Board, drew some of the loudest applause of the morning when he vowed resistance regardless of the outcome, saying he would bring a chisel if the arch were ever built.

Congressional Democrats have attempted to block federal funding for the project, but a single Republican senator this week rejected those efforts alongside a separate push to halt the demolition of the Kennedy Center.

“We could stop this today if the Republican majority stepped up and grew a backbone and would oppose Trump,” Duckworth said in a phone interview, pointing to next month’s midterm elections as a potential turning point if Democrats win back the majority.