Trump's 250-foot arch wins initial approval despite warning it could 'shift focus' from Arlington

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's proposed 250-foot triumphal arch won preliminary approval Thursday from a federal commission led by his appointees despite hours of public testimony opposing the project.

Most speakers before the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), including veterans and a Gold Star mother, urged commissioners to reject the proposal, warning it could disrupt military funerals, alter protected views and shift attention away from Arlington National Cemetery.

Trump's 250-foot Arlington arch wins preliminary approval

The NCPC approved preliminary site and building plans for the arch at Memorial Circle in front of Arlington National Cemetery, ABC News reported on Thursday, July 9.

A final approval vote could come at the commission's next meeting in September, according to Will Scharf, Trump's White House staff secretary and the commission's chair.

"I think commemorating America's 250th anniversary is important," Scharf said. "I think that the proposed arch is a fitting commemoration of 250 years."

Ahead of the hearing, NCPC staff recommended initial approval while calling for revisions to comply with the Height of Buildings Act, the century-old federal law restricting building heights in Washington, DC, to preserve the city's skyline, the outlet reported.

The proposed monument would stand more than twice as tall as the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial and higher than France's Arc de Triomphe.

Scharf acknowledged that the height issue could become a major point of contention, saying he anticipated a "vigorous debate" over the Height of Buildings Act as the commission continues considering the project.

Veterans warn Trump's arch could disrupt Arlington funerals

Before the vote, commissioners heard from more than two dozen people in person and virtually, with most speakers opposing the arch, the report said.

Linsay Burnett, who said she served as a combat photographer and public affairs sergeant in Iraq, framed her objection around the military community the project is intended to honor.

"I come to you as the person this arch claims to honor, and the person raised to protect what it would destroy. It betrays both," Burnett said.

She also warned about years of construction beside Arlington, saying, "Under this plan, families would lower their loved ones into the ground to the sound of pile drivers. Taps against a concrete pump."

Planning documents released by the Department of the Interior say the National Park Service plans for construction to take place 20 hours per day over the next two to three years.

"The least we owe them is silence, and for three years we would deny them even that," Burnett said.

Gold Star mother says arch could 'shift focus' from Arlington

Cynthia Morrison, who described herself as a Gold Star mother from North Carolina, raised a separate concern: that the massive structure could obstruct designed views of Arlington National Cemetery and distract from its meaning, the outlet reported.

Morrison recalled visiting the grounds with her son when he was young and watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before he later chose military service.

"For me, that view is not merely visual, it is remembrance, it represents continuity and sacrifice, and the lived reality of military service and loss," Morrison said.

"I'm deeply concerned that placing a large monument in this corridor would alter that experience by shifting the focus away from Arlington itself and toward the structure," she added.

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