Plans for the 250-foot-tall Arc de Triomphe in Washington, DC
Provided by: Harrison Design | American Board of Fine Arts
New architectural drawings for President Donald Trump’s controversial proposed “Arc de Triomphe” released Friday show a 250-foot-tall structure that would rise across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Drawings submitted by Harrison Design to the Art Commission ahead of the independent body’s April 16 meeting on the proposal show a large white structure topped with a golden Statue of Liberty and the words “One Nation Under God.”
Four golden lions surround the base of the arch.
Renderings show that the arch will be more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial. President Trump told reporters earlier this year that the arch would be “the most beautiful thing in the world.”
The monument, which President Trump has teased since last year, will be built at Memorial Circle, a roundabout near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia that leads into downtown Washington, D.C.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that my administration has formally submitted its presentation and plans to the esteemed Fine Arts Commission for what will be the greatest and most beautiful Arc de Triomphe anywhere in the world,” President Trump said in a statement. “This will be a great addition to the Washington, D.C. area that all Americans will enjoy for decades to come.”
Plans for the 250-foot-tall Arc de Triomphe in Washington, DC
Provided by: Harrison Design | American Board of Fine Arts
The renderings are the first official plans submitted by the Trump administration for the arch, one of several projects aimed at celebrating this summer’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“For 200 years, they’ve wanted to build the arch,” President Trump told reporters on February 1.
“Nearly 57 cities around the world have an Arc de Triomphe, but the only major city, Washington, D.C., still doesn’t have one,” he said.
On February 2, the President posted an image of the India Gate on social media with the message: “India’s beautiful Arc de Triomphe. Ours will be the greatest of them all!”
Tourists walking near India Gate in New Delhi, India. India Gate was built in memory of over 90,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the Afghanistan War and World War I.
Saquib Majeed | SOPA Images | Light Rocket (via Getty Images)
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia, slammed the arch project in a social media post Friday.
“While Americans worry about rising prices and endless wars, President Trump is focused on vanity, taxpayer-funded projects that will clog traffic, block the skyline, and tower over the sacred sites where those who served our country, including my parents and sister, are buried,” Beyer wrote in a post on Blue Sky.
“This is not about celebrating America’s 250th anniversary or honoring our veterans,” Beyer wrote. “This is about Donald Trump’s ego, and we’re going to stop it.”
The art commission considering the proposal is working with Trump allies.
In February, the agency approved the president’s $400 million renovation of the 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on March 31 blocked the renovation of the banquet hall, saying there is currently no law giving President Trump the legal authority to construct such a building at the White House without Congressional approval.
The news organization NOTUS reported this week that the Trump administration plans to use taxpayer funds to pay for the arch. According to the National Endowment for the Humanities’ fiscal year 2026 spending plan, $2 million in special initiatives funds and $13 million in matching funds have been set aside for the project.
In February, Vietnam War veterans and historians filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking an injunction to stop construction of the arch, saying it would block views of the Vietnam War and Lincoln Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery.
Judge Tanya Chutkan last week refused to issue a preliminary injunction blocking Arch, MS Now reports.
