Cook’s panel to review Trump’s arch proposal, as he seeks two more

The chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts is about to weigh Donald Trump’s plan for a monumental arch in Washington, even though Rodney Mims Cook Jr. has spent years trying to get a similar project built himself. Cook, who leads the seven-member federal advisory body, has long argued for a classical arch in the capital and now says the city should have two more as well.

The commission was scheduled to meet April 16, 2026, to review the administration’s filing, which was submitted April 11. The proposal calls for a 250-foot triumphal arch meant to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, with renderings showing a structure placed at Memorial Circle, the traffic circle near Arlington National Cemetery and across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial.

The latest design is laden with symbolism. It includes a 166-foot main arch, a 55-foot-wide interior opening, two 24-foot golden eagles, a 60-foot winged Lady Liberty statue and four golden lions at the base. Gold lettering on the monument would read “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice For All.” That scale would put the proposed arch at more than twice the height of the roughly 100-foot Lincoln Memorial and make it one of the most visually dominant additions to the capital landscape.

The project still faces a complicated approval path. Under the Commemorative Works Act, new memorials in that area require review by the Interior secretary or the General Services Administration, consultation with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and approval by Congress. The law also requires that new commemorative works in the area have “preeminent historical and lasting significance to the United States.”

The site has already drawn resistance because of where it sits. Critics have warned that a monumental arch near Arlington National Cemetery would alter key views and disrupt the existing memorial landscape, and military veterans filed a lawsuit in February seeking to block the project. The legal challenge argues that the monument would dishonor service members and diminish the Arlington experience.

The White House has argued the opposite, saying the arch would improve the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery and serve as a reminder of American sacrifice. The fight now lands before a commission led by Cook, whose own long campaign for a Washington arch gives the vote added political and symbolic weight.