Trump's 250-foot DC arch clears key hurdle to become reality

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's "triumphal arch" received preliminary approval from a District of Columbia panel on June 9, allowing the controversial project to move forward despite intense pushback from historic preservationists, architects and veterans.

The National Capital Planning Commission, composed of several Trump loyalists, voted 8-1 to approve a preliminary site and building plan for the arch near Arlington National Cemetery, setting up a final vote in September. Three commissions voted present.

During final consideration, the panel will decide whether the 250-foot proposal can bypass a federal law that limits the height of buildings in Washington to 130 feet.

The preliminary vote came after a lengthy public hearing in which the project was roundly criticized. Opponents said the arch would block sightlines between the nation's largest and most sacred cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. They argued it would be more appropriate elsewhere in the city.

Relatives of U.S. soldiers buried at Arlington including gold-star mothers said the arch would take away the tranquility of the cemetery. Others expressed outrage by the speed at which Trump officials have pushed through the proposal. Many said the arch's only purpose is to feed the desires of one man: Trump.

"Actions, not objects, are what commemorate and memorializes an administration," said Frederick Gottschalk of the veterans advocacy group Common Defense.

Will Scharf, the commission's chairman who is also Trump's White House staff secretary, said the proposed arch ‒ which would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial ‒ is a "fitting commemoration" to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.

But Melissa Millhorn, among the dozens of citizens who spoke at the public hearing, said she opposes the project because an arc symbolizes ancient Rome's move from a republic to an empire ‒ the opposite of American ideals, she said.

"The absence of such an arch in Washington is not a deficiency to be corrected, but distinction to be preserved," she said. "Consider the company this arch would keep: Napoleon's Paris. Mussolini's Rome. Pyongyang, where the Arch of Triumph glorifies Kim Il-sung."

In response to one of veterans' concerns, Scharf called for a mitigation plan to try to minimize noise from construction of the arch that could potentially be heard during services of fallen soldiers at the cemetery. "If at all feasible, I'd like some sort of plan to ameliorate that particular concern," Scharf said.

Evan Cash, a representative of the D.C. city council and the only commissioner to vote against the arch, said federal law is clear that congressional action would be necessary to get around the federal height limit.

"I'm not willing to lend my vote to plans that can have the effect of upending decades of NCPC practice and century-old height framework," Cash said, "all without congressional authorization, for a project that, as far as I can tell, has only one real advocate ‒ and that advocate is not Congress."

The White House has not said how much the arch would cost. Trump has said he will use private dollars to pay for it, just as he's pledged to us private donations to cover the $400 million price tag for a new ballroom he's building on the White House grounds.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's 250-foot DC arch clears key hurdle to become reality

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 2:59 PM.