Trump’s triumphal arch plan for US capitol faces key federal review vote | Donald Trump
The triumphal arch design that Donald Trump wants to be built at the entrance of the US capital will be reviewed by an important federal agency and put to a possible vote on Thursday. It’s one of several projects the US president is pursuing to leave a permanent footprint in Washington, as well as the White House ballroom.
Trump said on social media that the arch “will be the LARGEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Arc de Triomphe anywhere in the world” and “will be a wonderful addition to the Washington DC area for all Americans to see for decades to come.”
Also on the agenda for the monthly meeting of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, whose seven members are appointed by the Republican president, is a plan to paint white the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House.
A third project related to the White House, the construction of an underground center where security screenings of tourists and other guests will be carried out, is also being evaluated.
Commissioners are scheduled to review design plans for all three projects. This will be their first time examining the belt and paint job. The White House visitor center was discussed at the March meeting. It was unclear Thursday whether the commission would approve any of the projects.
The National Capital Planning Commission, a separate oversight panel, launched its visitor center review last month. Trump must receive the belt design for consideration and a confirmation vote soon.
The arch would stand 250 ft (76 metres) tall, from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure at the top of the structure. There would be two eagles at the top of the figure and it would be protected by four gilded lions at the base. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” will be written in gold letters on both sides of the monument.
The arch will be built on a man-made island managed by the National Park Service on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, at the end of the Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The arch will be dwarfed by the 99 ft (30 metre) tall Lincoln Memorial.
The 250-foot height will honor the 250-year existence of the United States, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.
But it’s already a matter of litigation. A group of veterans and a historian filed a lawsuit in federal court to block construction on the grounds that, among other reasons, the arch would disrupt the line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery.
