Justice Department says Trump's proposed arch would take 33 to 39 months

Virginia and the District of Columbia sue; veterans also sue over sightline

The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday that Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot (76-meter) triumphal arch would not be completed until after the end of his second term. If the project receives the go-ahead, the department expects an initial six to eight months of construction focused on excavation and foundation work to begin as soon as Thursday. Above-ground construction would begin in May 2027 at the earliest, and total construction is anticipated to take 33 to 39 months.

Virginia and the District of Columbia sued the National Park Service and Department of the Interior on Saturday, seeking to halt the start of construction. Their lawsuit called the project “legally indefensible” and argued that Congress had not approved it.

Several veterans also sued to block the arch, arguing that it would destroy the historic sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

The government urged U.S. judge Tanya Chutkan in the District of Columbia to reject the effort to stop construction. It argued that the arch’s location and height could be used to defend the capital from evolving threats such as drones.

Thursday was the next scheduled decision point. The National Capital Planning Commission was set to hold a meeting to approve the project. The Department of the Interior said in a court filing that it may issue a final decision to approve the proposal the same day. The Department of the Interior added that the National Park Service may also issue a permit or other authorization on Thursday.

Others raised fears about the arch’s proximity to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and its location within the airport’s main approach and departure corridors. The Federal Aviation Administration found that the arch did not pose aviation safety risks. The FAA said the arch would include an eternal flame and floodlight projectors pointed at it to make it noticeable to pilots.

The project is modeled on Paris’s Arc de Triomphe and planned near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington. On 15 October 2025, Donald Trump held up a model for the proposed arch while speaking during a dinner with ballroom donors in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.

The arch is part of Trump’s broader push to remake Washington, D.C. That effort includes renovating the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, redeveloping a golf course in East Potomac Park, adding his name to the U.S. Institute of Peace and attempting to add his name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The Justice Department’s timetable remained conditional on approval, while the lawsuits brought by Virginia, the District of Columbia and veterans remained unresolved. Work could begin as soon as Thursday, but the full construction period would run 33 to 39 months.