Trump‘s Capital ’Vanity Projects Reach Estimated $1.4 Billion—With Imminent Arch Groundbreaking
Topline The Trump administration announced it will break ground on a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery within the next two weeks—the latest among a series of costly Capitol renovations under President Donald Trump. The motorcade with President Donald Trump drives in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after a visit to see the new blue protective coating being applied as part of a renovation project on May 7, 2026, in Washington. (Photo by Alex Brandon – Pool/Getty Images) Pool Key Facts Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a social media post on Thursday that excavation work would begin in the next two weeks. The arch, which will look similar to, but be taller than, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, would sit at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The Commission of Fine Arts, which is composed of Trump appointees, approved Trumps plans for the arch in May, despite his administration rejecting its suggestion to remove a golden winged angel and two eagles from the top of the structure to reduce its height. Discover more Compare Exchange Rates exchange-traded funds (ETFs exchange-traded funds The National Capital Planning Commission, which has jurisdiction over federally owned land in Washington, has not reviewed the project, however, and it









