By Arden Farhi
Washington bureau managing editor
Updated on: April 10, 2026 / CBS News
Washington — The Interior Department has submitted renderings of President Trump’s proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery that show the structure would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial across the Potomac.
The proposal calls for an arch roughly 250 feet tall, more than twice the height of the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial. At that scale it would be the tallest triumphal arch in the world, about 30 feet taller than Mexico City’s Plaza de la República — meeting the president’s stated aim for the monument.
The proposed site is in a traffic circle on the Virginia side of the Potomac, between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, on land that technically falls within the District of Columbia. Plans show inscriptions reading “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice For All” on either side of the arch. Gold-colored statues of Lady Liberty, flanked by two eagles, would top the structure, with four statues of lions around the base.
Designs were prepared by Harrison Design, a Washington architecture firm. Renderings depict the arch framed against the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, and visible from the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Mr. Trump has championed the project publicly, sharing design concepts and saying the arch is for “me.” He has likened it to Paris’ Arc de Triomphe and said it would commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. In a Truth Social post the president said his administration had “officially filed the presentation and plans to the highly respected Commission of Fine Arts for what will be the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World.”
American taxpayers would help fund the arch, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities’ spending plan approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The plan reserves $2 million in special initiative funds and $13 million in matching funds “for the arch.”
The proposed location sits along a flight path for Reagan National Airport, raising questions about potential impacts on aircraft approaches. The Commission of Fine Arts, a panel composed entirely of Trump appointees, is scheduled to hear a presentation about the arch on April 16.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.