Excavation is expected to start within the next two weeks on President Donald Trump’s disputed “Great Triumphal Arch,” according to a Thursday, September 3 post on X by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The announcement came before the project has secured approval from a federal review panel.
The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which reviews design proposals across Washington, DC, gave the project preliminary approval on July 9, but also outlined a series of concerns Trump must address before the commission can grant final approval. Its main objection is the proposed structure’s 250-foot height, which could exceed the 130-foot limit set by the 1910 Height of Buildings Act and disrupt views of numerous historic landmarks.
“This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World,” Burgum wrote in his post Thursday, one month before the NCPC’s next scheduled review on October 1.
The white granite arch is planned for the heavily traveled Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery and would feature a “Military Observation Deck.” It would also be crowned with two golden eagle statues and one golden winged figure. Although the monument has been framed as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, Trump has also dedicated the work, which many have nicknamed the “Arc de Trump,” to himself.
The project has already been approved by Trump appointees on the Commission of Fine Arts in May and by the National Park Service last week. Even so, the Park Service acknowledged in its report that “the proposed undertaking would result in adverse effects to the historic property,” citing interference with sightlines to or from the Arlington House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the Kennedy Gravesite, among other sites.
To reduce the arch’s possible impact, the NCPC urged Trump to continue consultations under Section 106, the federal review process requiring agencies to consider harm to historic properties before construction begins. Trump has frequently accelerated that process, and the largely Trump-appointed Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voted in July to weaken protections. Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still assessing the arch’s effect on air navigation because of its location only miles from Reagan National Airport, CNN reported. The NCPC said construction should have been delayed until the FAA determined what precautions were necessary.
