U.S. President Donald Trump holds a model of an arch monument during a ballroom dinner in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 15, 2025.
Just after the final plans for President Donald Trump’s triumphal arch were revealed, The Washington Post reports that the administration made a key change that could influence the upcoming vote on the controversial project. The commission’s 12 members include the heads of the Pentagon, the Department and the General Services Administration, who typically send deputies to serve as alternate commissioners in their place.
Tammy Stidham, a senior National Park Service official who was among those replaced, had served for several years as the Interior secretary’s alternate commissioner and voted on numerous previous projects.
The vote on Trump’s arch is sparking major debate because of its location, which will sit near Arlington National Cemetery. Those opposing the proposed location, including veterans groups, local advocacy organizations and historic preservationists, have urged Trump to reduce the planned arch’s 250-foot height or choose a different site altogether. Two of the new alternate commissioners are military veterans.
Before the change, the commission was filled with Trump allies, including those who approved the new White House ballroom, another controversial project. The commission’s chair, Mark Paoletta, says he plans to approve the arch.
“The empty Memorial Traffic Circle built in 1940 does not complete the grand design authorized and envisioned by the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission and by Congress as enacted in the 1925 law,” Paoletta wrote on X this week. “It is a disgrace to our nation and her noble veterans.”
The arch is proposed to be an extravagant, standing 250-foot-tall structure built of concrete, with an opening 55 feet wide. If approved, it would be twice the height of the nearby 99-foot Lincoln Memorial nearby. USA Today reports two gilded eagles would sit above the arch's legs, and a gilded winged figure holding a torch would sit at the top. Speaking of the Lincoln Memorial, the arch would stand across the Potomac River, with the memorials seemingly across from one another in the distance.
And it doesn’t stop with the statue; the plan is to have a development surrounding it. The arch monument would measure 166 feet wide and include an observation deck overlooking the surrounding area, which will be equipped with six stairways and five elevators for access to interior spaces and public areas. There’s supposed to be a surrounding plaza, granite pavers, landscaping, a stone seat wall, and pedestrian crosswalks with lighting.
Preliminary plans for the arch were approved in July. Final site and building approval will be determined during the upcoming Nov. 5 meeting.
