NCPC Approves Trump’s 250-Foot Arch Over Objections

The National Capital Planning Commission approved President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Nov. 5. More than 100 opponents testified against it. The motion passed 8-4 after a nearly nine-hour meeting. During testimony, the commission’s virtual stream crashed. Protesters calling in from the Memorial Bridge appeared with a red “X” over the proposed site behind them.

A public protest, then an 8-4 vote

The arch is planned for Columbia Plaza on the Arlington Memorial Bridge, between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Its placement would symbolically link Washington, D.C., and Virginia, while putting a monumental structure beside a highway roundabout near the cemetery entrance.

Speakers said the arch would insult service members and relatives buried at Arlington. They called it a vanity project spear-headed by Trump. They also warned of effects on D.C.’s airspace and danger to people nearby. One speaker referred to the 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River that killed 67 people.

Former CIA analyst Holly Fletcher called the project “pointless” and “tasteless.” Before the vote, she told commissioners: “Honestly, listening to your mental acrobatics and inexplicable sycophancy today, I am already embarrassed for you. Because mark my words, Trump and his movement will not succeed ... And we will remember your names and what you choose to do in this moment.” She asked whether they wanted to be “complicit in shameful, autocratic lunacy” or join a “historic movement for democracy.”

Ed Sterling, Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, questioned why the commission could “give final approval to a structure that doesn't even have a clear purpose?” He said studies under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act had been “cut short.”

A fight over who gets to authorize it

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the first to comment against the arch, said “revered presidents” were honored with structures in Washington after they served. He argued that Congress hadn’t approved the project, calling the United States a “nation of laws, not kings or kangaroo commissions.” Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.) spoke in favor.

NCPC chair Mark Paoletta challenged Huffman’s account. The Trump administration has cited a 1925 congressional authorization for the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission as the basis for building the arch a century later. Paoletta said Huffman was “wrong” about the authorization and about the project being “just about a bridge.” Huffman replied that historical records differed from congressional authorization or “legislative history,” and said a court should test the argument.

That court fight remains open. Virginia and the District of Columbia sued the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior on Oct. 31, seeking to stop construction and calling the project “legally indefensible.” They argue Congress didn’t approve it. The government says Congress authorized the arch when it approved construction of a bridge across the Potomac River. A judge considering several legal challenges could still block construction. The commission’s vote hasn’t settled the dispute.

A monument with a military pitch

According to a government court filing, the National Park Service could issue a permit or other authorization on Nov. 5 and begin construction that week. The Justice Department said an initial six to eight months of excavation and foundation work could begin that week if the project received the go-ahead. Above-ground construction would begin no earlier than May 2027, with the project expected to take 33 to 39 months in total.

At a Nov. 2 event about improvements to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Trump said the arch could serve as a military asset and house drones and snipers. “It's right smack in the middle of everything, so very important for our military. But from a beautification standpoint, it'll be the most beautiful arch in the world,” he said.

The proposed design includes an eternal flame and floodlights intended to make the structure visible to pilots. It would stand more than 80 feet taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, near aircrafts’ final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A rendering shows a 60-foot-tall gold, winged female figure holding the flame, flanked by gold flying eagles.

Trump is also pushing other costly Washington projects despite opposition from local officials and preservationists, including rebuilding the Reflecting Pool, constructing a massive White House ballroom and overhauling the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The public spoke. The commission voted. The courthouse may yet decide whether construction moves ahead.