Trump Admin Reveals Design Plans for 250-Foot Triumphal Arch in Washington

The Trump administration formally submitted designs Friday to the Commission of Fine Arts for a 250-foot triumphal arch planned for Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery. President Donald Trump announced the filing in a Truth Social post, referring to it as the tallest and most beautiful such structure in the world.

“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,” the president said in a post on Truth Social. “This will be a wonderful addition to the Washington D.C. area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come!”

The Department of the Interior submitted a 12-page filing to the congressionally established advisory body, which meets on April 16, where commissioners are set to formally weigh in on the designs. The renderings were made by Harrison Design, a Washington architecture firm.

The proposed arch would span 250 feet from its base to the tip of a winged figure’s torch at its crown, representing one foot for every year of America’s independence.

The structure bears a gilded, Lady Liberty-like winged figure between two eagles, with four golden lion statues at the monument’s base.

“ONE NATION UNDER GOD” and “LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL” would be inscribed in gold on opposite sides of the arch.

The structure is proposed to be placed within the Memorial Circle roundabout on Memorial Drive between the southwestern end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial.

The arch would be much taller than the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet tall, and would also be taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris by over 80 feet.

“It is something that is so special,” Trump said of the Washington arch in December. “It will be like the one in Paris, but to be honest with you, it blows it away.”

Trump first unveiled a model of the arch at the White House in October 2025 at a dinner for donors who had contributed to the construction of the new White House ballroom.

In October 2025, the Trump administration moved to replace all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews architecture and design for federal projects in Washington.

Trump signed in August 2025 an executive order directing prioritization of classical and traditional design in federal construction.

“Federal public buildings should uplift and beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States, and command respect from the general public,” the order states.

In February 2026, the advocacy group Public Citizen sued on behalf of three Vietnam War veterans in an attempt to prevent construction, arguing the arch needed approval from Congress under the Commemorative Works Act, which governs monuments on federally controlled land in the vicinity of Arlington National Cemetery.

Reuters contributed to this report.