Trump’s triumphal arch plan for US capital faces key federal review vote

Donald Trump’s design for the triumphal arch he wants built at an entrance to the US capital comes up for a review and possible vote on Thursday by a key federal agency. It is one of several projects the US president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his lasting footprint on Washington.

Trump said on social media that the arch “will be the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World” and a “wonderful addition to the Washington D.C. area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come!”.

Also on the agenda for the monthly meeting of the US Commission of Fine Arts, whose seven members were appointed by the Republican president, is his plan to paint the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House white.

A third White House-related project, construction of an underground center to conduct security screenings of tourists and other guests, is also up for consideration.

Commissioners are scheduled to review design plans for all three projects. They will be reviewing the arch and the paint job for the first time. The White House visitors’ center was discussed at the March meeting. It was unclear if the commission would approve any of the projects on Thursday.

A separate oversight panel, the National Capital Planning Commission, opened its consideration of the visitors’ center last month. It should receive Trump’s arch design soon for consideration and an approval vote.

The arch would stand 250ft tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure atop the structure. The figure would be flanked up top by two eagles and guarded at the base by four lions – all gilded. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

The arch would be built on a human-made island managed by the National Park Service on the Virginia side of the Potomac River at the end of Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which stands at 99ft (30 meters) tall.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Wednesday that the 250ft height will honor the US’s 250 years of existence.

But it is already the subject of litigation. A group of veterans and a historian have sued in federal court to block construction on the grounds that the arch will disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.