Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, announced plans to start work on the site of the 250-foot-tall triumphal arch. Final approval of the project is still pending.
Luke Broadwater and Emily Badger have covered President Trump’s construction projects around Washington.
President Trump is breaking ground on his 250-foot-tall triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, even before a federal review panel has approved the project.
Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, on Thursday announced plans for the excavation work.
“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” he wrote in a social media post, adding: “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.”
The rush to push ahead with work on the arch follows a familiar pattern for Mr. Trump, who has frequently embarked on large-scale changes to historic properties in Washington without approvals from Congress or anyone else. And it comes days after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to continue building a ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing.
Preservation organizations trying to block the president’s other construction projects had feared that the ruling would embolden the president to disregard those other legal challenges, too.
In this case, Mr. Trump has proposed building a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial that he has said must be taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. He has said the arch is meant to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, though he has also said that the arch is for himself.
The Commission of Fine Arts approved the design in May, even after the president rejected the panel’s suggestion to make the structure smaller by removing a towering, winged angel and two golden eagles. The administration has done preliminary testing of the site and has awarded $500,000 to an Oregon-based firm for an environmental assessment.
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