The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) approved the design for President Trump’s triumphal arch.
“The building is beautiful,” said the commission’s chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., as per CBS News.
Construction plans detail a 250-foot arch made of granite with a 24-carat gold-plated statue of Lady Liberty and two eagles. The phrases Liberty And Justice For All” and “One Nation Under God” are also featured.
In April, President Trump wrote on Truth Social, “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.” He said the project will be a “wonderful addition to the Washington D.C. area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come!”
Meanwhile, 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.”
It further criticizes that the arch will obstruct the view of other monuments. “It will block historically significant reciprocal views between those two memorials that were consciously designed and that have existed for nearly a century,” the filing states. “It will dominate the views of and the relationship between the surrounding memorials. With the erection of the Arch, Arlington House will no longer be visible from the Lincoln Memorial, and the view of the Lincoln Memorial from Arlington House will be obscured, disrupting the historic and symbolic link between the two.”
