The National Capital Planning Commission gave President Trump the green light Thursday to break ground on a massive memorial arch just outside Washington, DC.
In an 8-4 vote, the commission approved plans to build the 250-foot-high arch just across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, on a traffic circle between Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington Memorial Bridge.
The Trump administration had indicated it wanted to start construction on the arch project immediately after approval.
But shortly after the vote, federal judge Tanya Chutkan blocked construction of the arch for at least 14 days in response to a lawsuit from Virginia and the city of Washington, DC.
More than 100 witnesses testified in opposition to the project during the nine-and-a-half-hour-long meeting ahead of the vote.
Critics of the project contend the arch, which resembles Franceâs historic Arc de Triomphe, will obstruct the view between the site where the nationâs soldiers are laid to rest and the Lincoln Memorial.
Many argued the Trump administration should have sought congressional approval for the project.
âThe arch is illegal. It is obscene. It is nothing more than a monument by and for a leader whose legacy will be vilified, as will those who support him,â Susan Douglas, an activist who testified virtually from an anti-arch protest, told the commission.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) similarly argued that the project is ill-advised and illegal.
âThis arch would dishonor America,â Huffman told the panel, calling the proposed arch âa tribute to Donald Trump,â not veterans.
Mark Paoletta, the Trump-appointed chairman of the commission, lauded the presidentâs effort to build the arch.
âPresident Trump understands as president and a superb builder that itâs important to our national identity to display who we are through grand monuments,â he said.
In September, Trump teased that the arch would also be used to âhouse, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas.â
He also said that the arch will hold “large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage.”
âThere will be no facility like this anywhere in the world,â Trump added.
The arch is one of several projects around the nationâs capital that Trump has undertaken in his second term as part of an effort to âbeautify DCâ in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the US.
The Trump administration recently completed refurbishing the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall and is planning to upgrade a DC golf course owned by the federal government and managed by the National Park Service.
The president also sought to close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for extensive renovations, but was blocked by a federal judge.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Postâs request for comment Thursday night.
With Post wires
