Interior Department submits final design for President Trump's Triumphal Arch to planning commission

The Department of the Interior has sent the final design for President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-story Triumphal Arch to the National Capital Planning Commission for review. The submission includes updated traffic-circulation plans, lighting schemes and a revised placement of an "eternal flame" that the Federal Aviation Administration says will be visible to pilots without posing a hazard.

According to the commission’s project summary, the design features a winged statue atop the arch and eliminates 15 traffic-signal posts that were part of earlier drafts. Environmental and historical impact reviews by relevant agencies concluded that the project would not have a significant effect.

The commission is scheduled to consider the plans at its Nov. 5 meeting, after which final approval could be granted. The structure would be located on National Park Service land at the foot of Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River, and would exceed the height of the Lincoln Memorial and France’s Arc de Triomphe.

President Trump has said the arch will serve national-security purposes at the Pentagon’s request and will function as a "top-grade Military Complex," though the Pentagon declined to comment on the claim.

"The placement of the eternal flame is required by the Federal Aviation Administration after its safety review of the proposed structure," the Interior Department’s project summary states.

Legal challenges and opposition to the site have been ongoing since the project was announced in October 2025.