Trump’s gleaming Arch set to break ground

"We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at the Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and the Arlington National Cemetery," said Doug Burgum of the Interior.

"This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World," he said. The Arch will be the second major feature Trump is building in DC following the new ballroom at the White House, complete with whatever secret military facilities will lie beneath it.

The rendering of the Arch shows a great, white, gleaming arch like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, topped with a winged Liberty flanked by two other, smaller winged statues. At the top, a motto will read "One Nation Under God." The capital has many historic sites and attractions, from the government buildings to monuments and museums, but this will be a brand new site, the first of its kind in the new century.

All the usual suspects in DC are angry about the Arch and the ballroom, with some saying the Arch messes up views from Arlington National Cemetery, others saying the ballroom replaced the historic East Wing that should have been preserved in perpetuity. Preservationists don't like it, but it's unlikely that preservationists are even okay with Trump hanging his toothbrush in the bathroom at the White House residence.

The Washington Post notes that "Historical preservationists, Democratic lawmakers and some Washington residents have opposed the project, calling it an oversize and inappropriate structure that will disrupt the historically solemn corridor between the military cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial." These are the same people who protest the removal of a blue stick figure outside the Kennedy Center despite having hailed the removal of beautiful historical equestrian statues.

The Supreme Court allowed the ballroom to go forward and the Arch hasn't yet hit their bench, if it will at all. The administration, some argue, is moving this fast in order to outrun the lawsuits. Veterans have brought a suit over what they call disrupted views from Arlington, but the Department of Justice asked that it be thrown out. "Plaintiffs' distaste for the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury," they said.

The work could take two to three years, says the administration, promising near round-the-clock work until it's complete. Odds are that if Democrats take back the White House in 2028, they would put a stop to the work, even if it was right in the middle, perhaps leaving a gaping eyesore where a gleaming Arch would have stood. Democrats claim the project needs congressional approval, but Trump said Interior already has possession of the land, that "it was meant to be built for many years," and "we don't need anything from Congress."