A federal planning agency has greenlit Donald Trump‘s massive 250-foot ‘Triumphal Arch’ near downtown Washington, with construction potentially set to begin within 24 hours.
The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the federal agency overseeing major construction and development in Washington, voted 8-4 in favor of Trump’s proposed arch on Thursday night.
His so-called ‘Arc de Trump’, which is slated to be built near Arlington National Cemetery, will tower 250 feet into the air, roughly the height of a 25-story building.
It is a significant victory for Trump’s grand plans to remake Washington, but the president is not out of the woods just yet.
Beyond the legal battles and testimony from scores of people opposed to the project, Thursday’s final vote exposed a sharp divide between federal and local officials.
Those backing the proposal were either members of the Trump administration or had ties to the president, who had pressed for immediate construction. Opponents, meanwhile, represented the city of Washington.
A federal judge is now poised to deliver the next major blow or breakthrough, deciding whether the project can move forward or be stopped in its tracks.
But Trump faces another looming threat. Democrats, riding high after their historic midterm victories on Tuesday, have threatened to kill the project when they seize control of the House and Senate in January.
‘The Great Gatsby party is over,’ warned California Democratic Representative Jared Huffman just hours before the federal panel convened to vote on Trump’s arch idea.
A federal planning agency has greenlit Donald Trump’s towering 250-foot ‘Triumphal Arch’ near downtown Washington, with construction potentially set to begin within 24 hours
The decision clears a major hurdle for a project Trump has pursued as part of his efforts to reshape the capital region
The cost also remains uncertain. While some estimates have put the price tag as high as $100 million, it is unclear exactly how much the monument will cost or how it will be funded.
The Arc project is far from the first time that Trump has used security concerns as justification for his architectural endeavors during his second term as he is determined to leave not only a metaphorical but a literal mark on the nation’s capital.
Elements of Trump’s White House Ballroom project have been proceeding by having funds allocated from the Secret Service budget, despite some parts of it being caught up in lawsuits.
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