May 21, 2026 / 2:57 PM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation's capital, a key step in the project's process.Commissioners, all appointed by Mr. Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects that Trump is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington."The building is beautiful," the commission's chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., said shortly before the vote on a design revised slightly from what was presented to the federal agency in April.The arch would stand 250 feet tall from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two gilded eagles, but the four lions envisioned as guarding the base are now gone. The phrases "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice for All" would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.
Rendering of Trump triumphal arch that would sit between Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery submitted by Interior Dept. to Commission on Fine Arts, April 16, 2026.
