{"id":438921,"date":"2026-05-21T20:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/438921\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T20:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:59:10","slug":"designs-for-250ft-arch-in-washington-approved-by-panel-of-trump-appointees-washington-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/438921\/","title":{"rendered":"Designs for 250ft arch in Washington approved by panel of Trump appointees | Washington DC"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved designs for Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s proposed 250ft triumphal arch<\/a> in Washington DC.<\/p>\n

The vote by the panel,\u00a0which is made up of Trump appointees,\u00a0marks a key step forward for the project. Next month, the proposed design<\/a> is set to be reviewed<\/a> by the National Capital Planning Commission, another federal panel that oversees planning for federal buildings and land.<\/p>\n

\u201cWashington is not a static city,\u201d the panel\u2019s chair, Rodney Mims Cook Jr, said on Thursday, according to the New York Times<\/a>. \u201cIt must grow to allow the next 250 years of Americans to celebrate their accomplishments.\u201d He also described the building as \u201cbeautiful\u201d according to reports.<\/p>\n

The arch, dubbed the \u201cArc de Trump<\/a>\u201d, is designed to stand 250ft tall, and includes a public<\/a> viewing deck.<\/p>\n

The administration has said<\/a> it believes the monument will be \u201cone of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington DC, but throughout the world\u201d. It has also said that positioning of the arch near Arlington National Cemetery would serve as \u201ca visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250-year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today\u201d.<\/p>\n

But earlier this year, a group of military veterans and historic preservationists sued to stop<\/a> construction of the arch, arguing that the structure<\/a> had not received congressional approval and would disrupt the experience of visiting Arlington National Cemetery and obstruct \u201cthe symbolic and inspiring view\u201d from the cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial.<\/p>\n

In April, a White House official told the Guardian<\/a> that the arch\u2019s estimated cost was \u201cstill being calculated\u201d and would be released in the near future. The official said that the White House expects that the project will be funded through \u201csome combination of public and private funds\u201d.<\/p>\n

According to the New York Times<\/a>, the Trump administration has argued in legal filings that it has the authority to build the arch.<\/p>\n

The arch is one of several high-profile projects that Trump is pursuing in Washington during his second term. Others include the White House ballroom<\/a> and the renovations to the reflecting pool<\/a> on the US Capital\u2019s national mall.<\/p>\n

The arts panel that approved the arch plans on Thursday is the same panel that also approved Trump\u2019s ballroom earlier this year.<\/p>\n

In the Oval Office, Trump was asked about the news that the panel approved the plans for his arch. \u201cThat\u2019s good news,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building what\u2019s called the \u2018triumphal arch\u2019 right opposite the Arlington Memorial Bridge right by the Arlington Cemetery, it\u2019s beautiful\u201d he said, adding: \u201cWe just got approval from fine arts, that\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The US Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved designs for Donald Trump\u2019s proposed 250ft triumphal arch in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-438921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}