The National Capital Planning Commission's advisory council announced it was ending consultations on the arch project, stating that historic preservation officers from Washington, D.C., and Virginia had refused to sign off on proposed harm-mitigation plans. The decision clears a significant bureaucratic hurdle for the project, which was already expected to begin construction this month.
The arch, which Trump has touted as a "Triumphal Arch," would be built just outside Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, approximately four miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport—the site of a deadly midair collision in 2025 between a military helicopter and a commercial plane.
Earlier this week, Trump announced the arch would double as a military complex, capable of storing equipment and deploying snipers and drones from its roof and plaza. The dual-use designation has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who sent a letter to the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration urging them to reject the plan.
"The American people cannot afford to stand witness to Trump's risky plan to place a 250-foot structure along a busy approach path, especially if he follows through on plans to station snipers on the arch and fly drones," Duckworth wrote in a letter obtained by CBS News, the BBC's U.S. partner. She called the project "yet another Trump vanity project" and described the defence aspect as "foolhardy."
The FAA, however, ruled last week that the massive structure would not pose a risk to flights coming into and out of the airport. The arch is set to stand 72 metres (250 feet) tall, raising concerns about its visual and operational impact on the surrounding area.