{"id":6854,"date":"2026-07-09T22:07:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6854"},"modified":"2026-07-09T22:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:07:03","slug":"trumps-proposed-triumphal-arch-clears-another-key-hurdle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6854","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s proposed triumphal arch clears another key hurdle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Capital Planning Commission, led by the president\u2019s allies, voted to advance the project near Arlington Cemetery, tabling a height question for later.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Why Michigan is such a big Senate battleground<\/a><\/p>\n

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People find shade next to a scaled-down model of an arch proposed by President Donald Trump at the Great American State Fair along the National Mall on Friday. (Matt McClain\/For The Washington Post)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A federal commission Thursday advanced President Donald Trump\u2019s triumphal arch project<\/a> after hearing nearly three hours of public opposition, delivering a key win for the president\u2019s hope to begin building the towering 250-foot-tall structure.<\/p>\n

The National Capital Planning Commission\u2019s vote does not represent final approval for the controversial project, which would be constructed in Memorial Circle, a traffic roundabout near Arlington National Cemetery. The commission also requested that administration officials and architects provide more information about the project before final consideration, which its chairman said could come in September.<\/p>\n

But Thursday\u2019s vote allows Trump\u2019s plan to clear another logistical hurdle, with the president eager to begin construction on the arch \u2014 and potentially conclude the project \u2014 during his term.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s long overdue as something that should be seriously considered in the city,\u201d said Paul Ingrassia, a Trump appointee at the General Services Administration who serves as one of the panel\u2019s commissioners.<\/p>\n

The panel voted 8-1 to advance the project, with commissioners who represent the Trump administration and congressional Republicans all in favor of the arch, and one commissioner who represents Washington voting against it. Three more commissioners who represent Washington voted \u201cpresent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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National Capital Planning Commission Chairman Will Scharf speaks during a Wednesday meeting on the proposed arch. (Elizabeth Frantz\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

About 30 people \u2014 including architects, Washington residents, military veterans and the parents of soldiers buried in Arlington National Cemetery \u2014 weighed in before the commission\u2019s vote. Some criticized the commission\u2019s review as too rushed, noting that past proposals to build monuments in the city have undergone more thorough scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Others \u2014 including Michael Lemmon, a Vietnam War veteran who is suing to block the project<\/a> \u2014 told the commission that Trump\u2019s large arch would disrupt the experience of visiting Arlington National Cemetery and interfere with the intent of nearby monuments.<\/p>\n

\u201cReject this hasty and inappropriate proposal. Respect public opinion and engage in a deliberative design process to ensure that we end up with a fitting memorial for America\u2019s 250th anniversary,\u201d Priya Jain, who chairs the heritage conservation committee at the Society of Architectural Historians, told the commission.<\/p>\n

Trump has said that Washington, as the nation\u2019s capital city, deserves a triumphal arch that is larger than other arches around the world, including the 164-foot-tall Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The president and his deputies have also cited a 1925 plan authorized by Congress<\/a> to build a structure at the site where Memorial Circle is now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was meant to be built for many years,\u201d Trump said in the Oval Office in May, arguing that he has the authority to pursue the project without new congressional authorization<\/a>. \u201cWe don\u2019t need anything from Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats have disagreed and insisted<\/a> that the project must undergo congressional review.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s vote was not a surprise. Trump has remade the commission\u2019s leaders<\/a>, installing his staff secretary, Will Scharf, as its chairman and appointing other allies to the panel, positioning his projects for favorable reviews. The commission previously approved Trump\u2019s planned White House ballroom despite significant public opposition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The commission\u2019s staff members, <\/b>who include urban planners that are not politically appointed and serve across multiple administrations, recommended Thursday that the administration shrink the arch\u2019s design to comply with the Height of Buildings Act, a federal law that restricts most construction in Washington to a maximum height of 130 feet. The Trump administration and Scharf have separately argued<\/a> that the Height Act should not apply to the arch and other federal projects.<\/p>

Read more Sens. Fetterman (D) and McCormick (R) form rare bipartisan fundraising committee<\/a><\/p>\n

Scharf on Thursday said he found the Trump administration\u2019s argument that the Height Act did not apply to Trump\u2019s 250-foot arch \u201ccompelling\u201d and that the commission could resolve the matter at a future meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy view is that today we are just considering this project for preliminary approval, and that as a result, it\u2019s not necessary for us to take up this broader issue of the applicability of the Height of Buildings Act to federal construction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Scharf speaks during the meeting. (Elizabeth Frantz\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The Commission of Fine Arts, another federal panel packed with Trump\u2019s allies, voted<\/a> in May to give final approval to the project.<\/p>\n

Trump administration officials have declined to specify how much the project will cost or how it will be specifically funded, although have said that they plan to draw on a mix of private and public funds.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s proposed arch has drawn significant public feedback as it has advanced. The National Park Service reported receiving more than 100,000 comments about the project during a 10-day public comment period last month.<\/p>\n

Fifty-two percent of Americans oppose the planned arch, compared with 21 percent who favor it, according to an April Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Evan Cash, who serves on the commission as the representative of D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, was the lone commissioner to vote against the project Thursday. Cash raised several concerns, including whether the Trump administration was attempting to evade congressional restrictions on building monuments, and whether a current or future president should be able to easily build tall projects that change the character of Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur skyline didn\u2019t happen by accident,\u201d Cash said.<\/p>\n

Trump appointees Thursday insisted that the idea was broadly popular. Ingrassia said that a model arch currently displayed at a fair organized on the National Mall to celebrate the nation\u2019s anniversary<\/a> had drawn positive comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat display was attended by veterans, families, American citizens across the political spectrum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Trump\u2019s motorcade drives past the proposed location of the triumphal arch last month. (Tierney Cross\/Pool\/For The Washington Post)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Some commenters Thursday urged the Trump administration <\/b>to <\/b>build the arch in a different place, such as a site<\/a> near Nationals Park. Several commenters also said they felt the current site near Arlington National Cemetery was disrespectful and would be disruptive. The <\/b>Trump administration is proposing<\/a> to work on the project for 20 hours per day for up to three years, a pace that could allow it to finish the work before Trump leaves office.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder this plan, families would lower their loved ones into the ground to the sound of pile drivers. Taps against concrete pumps,\u201d Linsay Burnett, who said<\/a> she served with the Army in Iraq two decades ago, told the commission. \u201cWe ask our dead for everything. The least we owe them is silence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scharf later said he appreciated those comments and asked the team overseeing the arch to develop \u201csome sort of mitigation plan\u201d so funerals at the cemetery aren\u2019t disrupted by construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an example of how public testimony can really inform our commission\u2019s deliberative process,\u201d Scharf said.<\/p>

Read more Democrats seek a way forward amid finger-pointing in Maine<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Capital Planning Commission, led by the president\u2019s allies, voted to advance the project near Arlington Cemetery, tabling a height question for later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s proposed triumphal arch clears another key hurdle - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6854\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump\u2019s proposed triumphal arch clears another key hurdle - 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