Democrats are mobilizing lawyers to stop President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington, DC, with one congressman branding it a Christian Nationalist monument.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) joined other Democratic lawmakers in filing an amicus brief arguing Trump cannot erect the monument on federal land without congressional authorization. Huffman took to X to attack the arch’s planned gold inscription of “One Nation Under God,” calling it Cold War propaganda disconnected from the Founders and calling the structure Trump’s vanity project.
The White House pushed back hard Monday. Spokesperson Davis Ingle said Democrats oppose anything that celebrates American greatness and called them America Last losers. He said the triumphal arch at Memorial Circle will become one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.
The arch design, unveiled last Friday, shows a golden winged Lady Liberty flanked by two bald eagles across the top, with ONE NATION UNDER GOD inscribed in gold across the front and LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL on the back. The structure is planned near the Lincoln Memorial, close to Arlington National Cemetery.
Ingle said the arch will serve as a tribute to veterans and the families of the fallen, reminding visitors of the sacrifices made to protect American freedom over 250 years.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) mocked the project as the Arc d’Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office complained that $15 million in taxpayer funds would go toward it. Newsom made no mention of California’s high-speed rail project, approved by voters in 2008 at an initial $33 billion estimate, now expected to cost $126 billion with federal transportation grants canceled last year after the project showed no viable path to completion.
The Democratic court brief warns that approving the arch without a congressional vote could lead to unchecked monument proliferation and limit future generations’ ability to memorialize American history on their terms.
Trump launched the beautification effort through an executive order called Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful. He vowed in August to restore the capital to what he called its former appearance before what he described as tents, squalor, filth, and crime took hold.
