President Donald Trump’s ambitious ‘Triumphal Arch’ project recently received approval from an important planning commission, yet it may still face hurdles from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The FAA is currently assessing whether the towering edifice, designed to reach a height of 279 feet, could pose a risk to air navigation.
Inspired by the iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris, this grandiose golden arch is slated for construction within close proximity to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and roughly a mile from the Pentagon’s helipad.
This location is part of one of the nation’s most congested airspaces, where pilots must adhere to stringent flight regulations. It also was the scene of a tragic mid-air collision in January 2025 between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet, resulting in 67 fatalities.
An FAA representative, when asked for an update on the review timeline, refrained from commenting on Friday.
However, the agency has confirmed to the Daily Mail that it has received a request for an ‘aeronautical study’ concerning the proposed monumental arch and has initiated the usual obstruction evaluation procedure.
Any structure surpassing 200 feet in height triggers the process.
CNN reported earlier this month that these reviews typically take up to nine months, but the FAA said it plans to complete the assessment within 45 to 90 days.
President Donald Trump’s triumphal arch could still hit a roadblock if the Federal Aviation Administration determines it would be a hazard to air traffic. The arch project was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday
One of the visuals of the arch, which show its enormous height, provided to the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviewed and approved the project this week, fast-tracking it through the typical process
Trump is trying to fast-track the project as it is to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.
One way he is doing so is by using a plan Congress ratified in 1925 – 101 years ago – to include a pair of 166ft columns and statues in the site where the ‘Arc de Trump’ would stand, which was part of the broader Arlington Memorial Bridge project.
Nothing ended up being built inside that traffic circle, leaving it ripe for yet another Trump building project.
The Washington Post reported last week that the Trump administration planned to start work on the site by using a contract for engineering services on the White House’s grounds.
The presidential property is located about a mile away.
The Post obtained emails showing Park Services acting director Jessica Bowron asking White House officials if her agency could extend a contract between the White House and AECOM Services to conduct an environmental assessment for the arch project.
She said using the existing contract would allow work to ‘align with the Administration’s timeline.’
‘I realize it’s a little further afield than Lafayette Park, but given the engagement on this project from the WH, I thought I’d check,’ Bowron said in an April 22 exchange.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is less than two miles away from where President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch will be built. And any structure over 200 feet triggers a FAA review
The latest renderings of President Donald Trump’s triumphal arch provided to the public by the Commission of Fine Arts. The body approved the design on Thursday but removed the four golden lion statues
An hour later, she received a ‘Yes, of course,’ from Heather Martin, an official in the Executive Office of the President, the Post said.
It is unclear if that contract was ultimately used, but workers and equipment were spotted at the site in mid-May.
‘Any correspondence that has been leaked to the Washington Post was draft/deliberative conversations and is not the final determination,’ a spokesman for the Interior Department told the paper.
On Thursday, the Commission of Fine Arts – which is stacked with Trump allies, including his 26-year-old executive assistant – approved the project, bypassing the traditional, more thorough review process.
Despite the commission’s members suggesting the project get smaller by removing the golden rooftop adornments, they approved it at full height, though with four golden lions removed from the design.
Members ignored around 600 public comments, with only three expressing positive views of the project, Archinect reported.
The same group did the same thing when Trump’s ballroom project was before them.
The National Capital Planning Commission, the other federal review body, will take up the arch project at its June meeting.
A Vietnam Veterans group is suing because the arch would block the view of Arlington National Cemetery from the Lincoln Memorial (above)
An anti-arch protest was set up in the site of the future monument and along the motorcade route President Donald Trump took to get to Arlington National Cemetery to mark Memorial Day on Monday
That group is also stacked with Trump allies and is chaired by the White House’s Staff Secretary Will Scharf.
They also quickly pushed through Trump’s ballroom, despite almost all public comments being against it.
A lawsuit over the arch is still lurking in the background, too.
A group of Vietnam War veterans is trying to block the arch because it would block the view of Arlington National Cemetery from the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump encountered a group of anti-arch protesters on Monday as he was motorcading to Arlington National Cemetery to mark Memorial Day.
