Key federal agency approves the design plan for Trump's Washington arch [View all]

Source: Associated Press, via WTOP

Key federal agency approves the design plan for Trump’s Washington arch

The Associated Press
May 21, 2026, 2:52 PM



WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation’s capital, a key step in the project’s process but one that has no immediate bearing on the timeline for construction.

Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington. ... At the White House, Trump told reporters he thought the vote was “fantastic” adding that “we’re the only important and major city that doesn’t have one.”

The commission only oversees designs and has no role in the actual construction or funding of the arch or any other project it considers. Preliminary surveys and testing of the arch site began last week. The National Capital Planning Commission, a separate federal agency that approves construction on federal land, has the arch on the agenda at its June meeting. ... Trump had said last year that the arch could be paid for with private donations left over from the ballroom project. A cost estimate for the arch is still being calculated, but a mix of taxpayer and private money is expected to be used to pay for it, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the president has not publicly discussed the project’s cost.

“The building is beautiful,” said the commission’s chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., shortly before the vote on the slightly revised design. Commissioners had suggested several changes when they first reviewed the design in April. Some were made by the Harrison Design architecture firm and approved on Thursday.

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Read more: https://wtop.com/national/2026/05/trumps-proposed-washington-arch-gets-another-review/