President Trump released new depictions of the proposed triumphal arch last week. The monument features two bald eagles and a golden angel representing Lady Liberty. The phrase “One Nation Under God” is also featured.
“I am pleased to announce that TODAY my Administration officially filed the presentation and plans to the highly respected Commission of Fine Arts for what will be the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “This will be a wonderful addition to the Washington D.C. area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come!”
Discussing plans for the construction in October, President Trump said the arch will be built at the Arlington Memorial Bridge, explaining that at the end of the bridge, there is “a circle that was built 150 years ago, nobody knows really when, and in fact they put a couple of columns on each side, you have two columns on one side, two columns on the other. But yet, in the middle, there’s a circle and everyone that passes it says something was supposed to be built there. But a thing called the Civil War interfered.”
In February, three Vietnam War veterans filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, seeking to prevent it from building the proposed triumphal arch. The veterans argue that the development is unlawful without the approval of Congress. “By statute, congressional approval is required for construction of symbolic and commemorative works in the Nation’s capital. Furthermore, a host of other statutes impose procedural requirements that must be satisfied before erecting a monument on Memorial Circle,” the lawsuit states. It adds that failing to seek congressional approval is a “violation of the President’s duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed and is ultra vires.”
Trump told reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll that the monument is “going very good, and our veterans are the ones that should like it. It’s called the Triumphal Arch. It’s in honor of the veterans.”
