President Trump on Friday unveiled official architectural renderings for a proposed triumphal arch on the National Mall, posting the designs on Truth Social and the plans were released by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. Produced by Harrison Design, the mockups echo a 3D model Trump showed at a White House event last October.
The arch would sit at one end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge next to Arlington National Cemetery. At 250 feet tall, the White House says its height is meant to mark America’s 250th birthday. The design resembles Paris’s Arc de Triomphe but would be nearly 100 feet taller, topped with two golden eagles and a winged, crowned figure evoking the Statue of Liberty. One side would read “One nation under God,” the other “Liberty and justice for all.” The structure would loom over the Lincoln Memorial at more than twice that monument’s height.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said the arch “will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike,” calling it a visual reminder of sacrifices made for the nation. When asked in October whom the monument would honor, Trump replied, “Me,” in a widely circulated video clip.
The project has drawn legal opposition. In February, a group of Vietnam War veterans filed a lawsuit seeking to bar construction, arguing the project violates statutes that require explicit congressional authorization for commemorative works or any building or structure on federal parklands in D.C. Sue Mobley, director of research at Monument Lab, described the plans as “textbook Trump,” saying the emphasis on size reflects an authoritarian impulse; she predicted the project would likely be tied up in court.
The White House says it will follow legal requirements as the project moves forward. The National Park Service requested the commission’s review of potential designs; the Commission of Fine Arts is set to review the plans next week. That commission is currently composed entirely of members appointed by Trump after he fired six sitting members in October 2025. The National Capital Planning Commission is also expected to weigh in.
No final cost has been announced. The White House said the project would draw on a combination of public and private funds, and Harrison Design did not immediately provide pricing information.
The arch is one of several major architecture and preservation controversies involving the administration in and around Washington, D.C. The White House is pushing forward with a roughly $400 million neoclassical ballroom addition after a federal appeals court temporarily allowed construction to proceed while the administration challenges a ruling that congressional approval was required; demolition in the East Wing has already occurred. The Rose Garden has been converted into a stone patio. Plans to close the Kennedy Center for a two-year renovation prompted a lawsuit from preservation and architecture groups in March. The administration has also proposed redesigns at Washington Dulles International Airport through a Department of Transportation initiative that drew proposals from several prominent architecture firms.
In August, the president signed an executive order directing that new federal buildings with construction budgets over $50 million be designed in classical or traditional styles.