The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted Thursday to approve the design for a 250-foot triumphal arch that President Donald Trump has championed as a monumental addition to the nation’s capital. The commission, composed entirely of Trump appointees, acted despite intense public criticism, moving a project forward that has divided Washington since it was first proposed.
Trump, speaking at the White House, hailed the approval. “I think it’s fantastic,” he told reporters, according to the Associated Press. He added, “We’re the only important and major city that doesn’t have one,” a reference to the triumphal arches that mark Paris, London, Rome and other world capitals.
The arch is proposed for a site near the Lincoln Memorial, as Main Street Independent has previously reported. Trump first revived the idea in early 2025, and a conceptual design received preliminary approval from the same commission in April, MSI reported at the time. Thursday’s vote was a full design review, a more detailed milestone that clears another procedural hurdle but does not begin construction.
The arch is one of several high-profile projects Trump has pursued to reshape the federal core. The president has also pressed for a White House East Wing ballroom — construction of which has proceeded despite a congressional impasse over a nearly $1 billion price tag, as MSI covered — and a National Garden of American Heroes near the National Mall. Together, the projects represent an effort to stamp a physical legacy on Washington in the tradition of other presidents who commissioned monuments.
Public opposition to the arch has been sustained and vocal. Preservationists, local residents and architectural critics have argued that a 250-foot classical triumphal arch would clash with the city’s existing monuments and open spaces. Several testified against the project at earlier hearings, and the commission acknowledged the volume of negative comments before Thursday’s vote.
No cost estimate has been released for the arch, and Congress has not appropriated funds. The commission’s approval does not authorize the expenditure of federal money, and the project would require a separate congressional appropriation, along with additional environmental and design reviews, before ground could be broken. In the meantime, Trump’s appointees have delivered him a procedural victory on a project that has become a signature of his domestic agenda.