The National Capital Planning Commission voted Thursday to allow President Trump’s administration to move forward with construction of a towering memorial arch just outside Washington, DC.
The proposal passed 8-4, clearing the way for a 250-foot structure across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial. The arch would rise from a traffic circle located between Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Trump administration officials had signaled that work could begin soon after the commission approved the project.
However, the plan was placed on hold shortly after the vote when federal Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary order blocking construction for at least 14 days. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Virginia and the city of Washington, DC.
More than 100 people spoke against the proposal during a meeting that lasted approximately nine and a half hours before the commission reached its decision.
Opponents say the design, which evokes France’s famed Arc de Triomphe, would disrupt the sightline between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
Critics also maintained that the administration should have obtained approval from Congress before pursuing the monument.
“The arch is illegal. It is obscene. It is nothing more than a monument by and for a leader whose legacy will be vilified, as will those who support him,” Susan Douglas, an activist who joined the hearing virtually from an anti-arch protest, told the commission.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) also condemned the proposal, calling it both unlawful and misguided.
“This arch would dishonor America,” Huffman told the panel, arguing that it would serve as “a tribute to Donald Trump,” rather than a memorial honoring veterans.
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Mark Paoletta, the Trump-appointed chair of the commission, defended the project and praised the president’s vision.
“President Trump understands as president and a superb builder that it’s important to our national identity to display who we are through grand monuments,” Paoletta said.
Trump previewed another proposed function of the arch in September, saying it could “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas.”
He also said the structure would contain “large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage.”
“There will be no facility like this anywhere in the world,” Trump said.
The arch is among several initiatives Trump has pursued in the nation’s capital during his second term as part of a broader campaign to “beautify DC” ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
The administration recently finished renovations to the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall and has proposed improvements to a federally owned Washington golf course operated by the National Park Service.
Trump also attempted to shut down the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for major renovations, but a federal judge blocked that effort.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment Thursday night.
With Post wires