This shows the rapid progress of a project that has caused outrage throughout the capital.
The planned structure – a 76-meter-high white triumphal arch with large golden sculptures of an angel and eagles on top – is part of D. Trump’s effort to leave his personal mark on the capital.
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“We are preparing to start the excavation work needed for the Great Triumphal Arch within the next two weeks,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum about the structure planned in the green circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
In his post on the social network “X,” he stated that the arch will become “one of the magnificent works of American architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and fitting with the most powerful capital in the world.”
The location in the green traffic circle, situated on an island in the Potomac River, has sparked debate because the D. Trump administration did not seek Congressional approval for such a major change to the U.S. capital.
Given its enormous size, it would block the view between the Lincoln Memorial, one of Washington’s iconic landmarks, and Arlington National Cemetery, where hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers rest in eternal peace.
Since returning to power in January 2025, D. Trump has initiated numerous renovation projects, several of which have sparked legal disputes.
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Among them is a huge and expensive banquet hall being built in the White House, for which D. Trump ordered the demolition of an entire wing of the presidential residence.
Another project is the complex renovation of a 618-meter-long rectangular water pool on the National Mall.
For a time, D. Trump’s name was also displayed on the walls of the Kennedy Center – a cultural and arts institute named after the assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
A judge ordered D. Trump’s name to be removed, but the facade is still covered with a tarp, and the institution’s board voted to commemorate the president’s name in another way.
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