President Donald Trump has formally filed plans with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts for a 76‑metre (250‑foot) triumphal arch proposed for Washington, D.C.
Trump described the design as “the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World.” If completed as proposed, the new arch would stand considerably taller than Paris’s Arc de Triomphe (just under 50 metres) and would also exceed Mexico City’s Monument to the Revolution (67 metres) and Pyongyang’s Arch of Triumph (60 metres).
Submitted drawings show a gilded, Liberty‑like figure atop the structure, flanked by two eagles and guarded by four gilded lions. Gold inscriptions on the arch are planned to read “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All.” The chosen site is across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial.
Cost estimates remain unclear. An October Axios report quoted White House insiders who put the price tag at about $100 million (roughly €85 million), and the White House has suggested private financing could play a role, as has been the case with other controversial projects near the presidency.
Trump has framed the monument as a commemoration of 250 years since the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence on July 4. When a reporter asked whom the monument would honor, he pointed at himself and replied “me,” calling the idea “fantastic.” He has also argued that Washington is the only major capital without a triumphal arch.
The plans will be reviewed by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. In October, Trump dismissed that agency’s board members and appointed allies to replace them, a move critics said could affect the review process. Separately, three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian have mounted a legal challenge, arguing the proposed monument would require approval from Congress.
The commission’s review and the pending legal action will determine whether the project advances; funding and final approvals remain unresolved.