Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho said Monday that he opposes using War Department funds for President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

“There’s a lot of things that we need the military funding for, in fact, we’re short on military funding right now,” Simpson told reporters at the Capitol, according to Politico.

When asked whether Pentagon funding should be used for the project at all, Simpson responded, “If it was my choice, I wouldn’t put any of that money into the arch.”

Trump announced Sunday that he had agreed, at what he described as the military’s “strong request,” to turn the planned monument into a “top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch” for national security purposes. The president said the facility would be capable of storing and rapidly deploying large numbers of drones, with sniper positions on the roof and plaza and storage for large quantities of sniper ammunition.

The arch is planned for Memorial Circle near the Arlington Memorial Bridge and Arlington National Cemetery. Trump has described the project as fully financed, including funding left over from his White House ballroom project. The military-related features announced Sunday were not included in the plans previously reviewed by federal design and planning authorities, and the Pentagon has said it has no information beyond Trump’s public statement.

Simpson, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the project should be debated by Congress and suggested the administration seek an appropriation if it intends to use federal funds.

“I hope if they decide to do it, that they would come to Congress and ask for an appropriation for it if they’re going to use appropriated dollars to do it,” Simpson said.

The proposed arch is already facing legal challenges from Vietnam War veterans and others who argue that the structure would affect the historic views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The administration has argued that congressional approval is not required, citing congressional authorization for a similar structure more than a century ago.

Simpson also criticized the Trump administration’s recent decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, as well as a proposal from House Rules Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) concerning reporters’ access to the Speaker’s Lobby.

“Just because you don’t like what the press is reporting, or the fact that they wouldn’t call it the Gulf of America or something else like that, that’s not the reason to ban the press,” Simpson said. “You should never ban the press. The press is what keeps us honest. So, I don’t like what they’re doing.”