Federal fine arts commission approves Trump’s proposed Washington triumphal arch

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The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to Washington, advancing the project through the commission’s design-review process while leaving construction timing to later steps. Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, approved the slightly revised plan despite widespread public opposition to the proposed 250-foot structure, the Associated Press reported.

Trump said at the White House that he thought the commission’s action was “fantastic,” adding, “we’re the only important and major city that doesn’t have one.” The approval is a key step in the process, but the commission said it has no immediate bearing on when the arch would be built.

Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the commission, said shortly before the vote that “The building is beautiful,” after commissioners had previously suggested changes when they first reviewed the design in April. On Thursday, the commission approved changes that the Harrison Design architecture firm incorporated into the updated plan.

The arch would stand 250 feet tall, with an exterior made of granite and a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top. The proposal also includes two gilded eagles flanking the structure and “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument, according to the report. Commissioners’ Thursday approval included removal of four lions that had been envisioned as guarding the base, a revision that opponents said would reshape how the project fits into the surrounding federal memorial landscape.

James McCrery II, the commission’s vice chairperson and an architect, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top, which would have reduced the height by about 80 feet. Critics have argued the arch would dominate the skyline and disrupt views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, which a group of veterans and a historian have cited in legal filings aiming to stop the project.

The commission’s Thursday-approved version also dropped several other elements. McCrery previously recommended eliminating ground-level lion statues and an underground pedestrian tunnel, and the design approved Thursday includes pedestrian crosswalks instead. A platform the arch would have been built on was also removed from the plan.

Opponents told the commission during the meeting that the arch is too large and should be reviewed by Congress because the structure would be built on federal land. Ten people testified, including representatives of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the DC Preservation League, and they argued the project would disrupt a sightline created to symbolize reunification after the Civil War. A group of veterans and a historian sued the Trump administration in federal court to block the arch, citing concerns about the sightline.

Cook, after listening to the testimony, said the limitations of building new structures on the National Mall should not end the discussion. “Washington is not a static city. It must grow,” Cook said, according to the report. In a statement after the meeting, the National Trust urged the National Park Service to begin consultations it said are required under the National Historic Preservation Act and urged the National Capital Planning Commission to “participate in a comprehensive review of this unfortunate design” and consider alternatives, while also saying congressional approval is required.

The commission’s action does not authorize construction or funding. The commission “only oversees designs and has no role in the actual construction or funding” of the arch, the report said. Preliminary surveys and testing at the site began last week, and the National Capital Planning Commission, a separate federal agency, has the arch on the agenda at its June meeting.

The arch proposal is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to pursue visible projects in Washington, including other changes that have faced legal challenges. The report noted that the president has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of July 4 celebrations, will beautify the city; that pool work is also the subject of a court dispute, with a federal judge indicating he would issue a written decision after hearing arguments.