The US Commission of Fine Arts approved designs on Thursday for Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington, a project dubbed the Arc de Trump and now headed for another review next month. The panel that signed off on the designs is made up of Trump appointees.
The arch is meant to stand 250 feet tall and include a public viewing deck, and the administration says it would become “one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington DC, but throughout the world.” It has also argued that placing it near Arlington National Cemetery would serve as “a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250-year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today.”
The approval is a clear step forward for one of several high-profile projects Trump is pursuing in Washington during his second term, and it comes after months of political and legal friction. Earlier this year, a group of military veterans and historic preservationists sued to stop construction, saying the project had not received congressional approval and would interfere with visits to Arlington National Cemetery while blocking “the symbolic and inspiring view” from the cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial.
That lawsuit has kept the monument from moving quietly through the review process. In April, a White House official said the arch’s estimated cost was still being calculated, would be released soon and was expected to come from some combination of public and private funds. The Trump administration has since argued in legal filings that it has the authority to build the arch, even as critics press their case in court and through the review system.
Rodney Mims Cook Jr., who has been involved in the effort, cast the project in explicitly long-term terms, saying, “Washington is not a static city” and “It must grow to allow the next 250 years of Americans to celebrate their accomplishments.” He also called the design “beautiful.”
The next test comes next month, when the National Capital Planning Commission is set to review the proposed design. The same arts panel that approved the arch on Thursday also approved Trump’s ballroom earlier this year, underscoring how deeply his second-term building push is now moving through the capital’s federal review pipeline. For now, the question is no longer whether the arch has a design that can clear one hurdle. It is whether the rest of Washington will let the Arc de Trump rise at all.
