A Trump-appointed commission reviewed one of President Trump’s architectural priorities in Washington, D.C., and while commissioners raised a string of questions, they ultimately voted to grant preliminary design approval.
The project centers on a 250-foot stone arch meant to tower above the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Its proposed location is Columbia Island—a man-made strip of land in the Potomac River—currently marked by a grassy traffic circle at the foot of Memorial Bridge. One commissioner, standing through the presentation, seemed almost unsettled by the idea of the statues’ wings spread wide against that monument-heavy backdrop.
Commissioners questioned architect Nicolas Charbonneau about several design points, including structural footings, pedestrian and wheelchair access, and the golden statues that would top the structure. The design calls for a gold-plated bronze Lady Liberty and two bald eagles with wings extended, plus two golden lion statues flanking the arch. “It seems odd,” commissioner James McCrery said, pointing specifically at the winged figures. Another remark followed quickly—“I’d say work on the lions”—and the pushback didn’t stop there.
McCrery, who voted in favor of preliminary approval, also floated changes that would alter the project’s size and layout. He suggested a larger doorway, removing an underground access tunnel, and—perhaps the most controversial adjustment—making the arch smaller. According to McCrery, the structure could “better participate” in Washington’s memorial skyline at about 166 feet, rather than at its proposed height.
It matters a little how McCrery came to this role. Misryoum newsroom reported that he was Trump’s handpicked architect for the White House ballroom, later replaced after disagreements surfaced over that project’s size. Thursday’s presentation leaned on history, too. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum introduced the plan and said Congress, when it drew up the National Mall, included an “adornment” of two columns on Columbia Island—160 feet tall columns symbolizing the North and South after the Civil War. Misryoum editorial desk noted those columns were never built, and Burgum argued the proposed arch and its paired allusions could rise about 160 feet as a nod to that earlier concept.
Public reaction, meanwhile, arrived in an overwhelming pile. The commission received about 1,000 public comments, and Misryoum editorial team stated CFA secretary Thomas Luebke said “100% of the comments were against the project,” including criticism targeting the arch’s scale. The panel was also told the design would “assert itself as a dominant vertical element in a skyline that has resisted such intrusions.” One commenter also criticized the project for being closely associated with a modern political figure—an argument that has echoed in different forms across the country whenever major monuments are tied to contemporary personalities.
Charbonneau will now revise the design before the commission votes on final approval. At 250 feet, the arch would be much taller than the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial across Memorial Bridge, though the Washington Monument still dwarfs it at 555 feet. A group of Vietnam War veterans has already sued to block construction, arguing the arch would obscure the visual connection between the cemetery and Lincoln Memorial. So far, the judge has yet to intervene. And while the commission is clearly listening, it’s hard to ignore the smell of disagreement lingering in the room—like old paper and fresh coffee—right alongside the polished metal imagined to gleam on the island.
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