A 25-Story Triumphal Arch Must Not Block Historic Views in Washington DC

As your constituent, I urge you to help prohibit President Trump’s proposed 250-foot Triumphal Arch at Memorial Circle in Washington, D.C. Please use legislation, funding restrictions, oversight, and public advocacy to prevent it from being built. ARLINGTON’S HISTORIC LANDSCAPE MUST BE PROTECTED The open views connecting the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Memorial Bridge, and Arlington National Cemetery are part of a deliberately designed landscape. They give the approach to the cemetery its solemn character and connect places that express the nation’s history and sacrifice. A 250-foot arch would interrupt those views. At roughly two and a half times the height of the Lincoln Memorial, the arch would tower over this landscape. A new monument should not diminish the historic places it is supposed to honor. THE PARK SERVICE HAS DOCUMENTED ADVERSE EFFECTS The National Park Service’s own August 2026 assessment finds adverse effects concentrated on six National Historic Landmarks, including Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial corridor, among dozens of other historic properties in the surrounding viewshed. No mitigation measure can preserve an open monumental landscape while inserting a 250-foot structure into its center. The problem is not a detail of the design; it is the scale and placement of the arch itself. THE ADMINISTRATION IS MAKING AN END RUN AROUND CONGRESS The Commemorative Works Act requires congressional authorization for new memorials on the federal lands it covers. The administration argues that a 1925 law authorizing the Arlington Memorial Bridge also authorizes this arch, an interpretation now being challenged in federal court. The Interior Department has announced plans to begin excavation at the site within two weeks. By moving to build while litigation over its authority remains pending, the administration is treating congressional authority as an obstacle to outrun, not a requirement to satisfy. Congress should expressly prohibit the project. It should not leave a permanent transformation of this national landscape to an expansive interpretation of an old bridge authorization. REQUESTED ACTIONS: (1) ENACT A CONSTRUCTION BAN. Cosponsor H.R. 9047, the Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act, in the House, or introduce or support equivalent Senate legislation, and press for prompt committee action. (2) DENY FEDERAL SUPPORT. Support appropriations language barring federal funds, personnel, contracts, or other federal resources from being used to construct the arch. (3) EXERCISE OVERSIGHT. Obtain agency records and hold hearings concerning the claimed statutory authority, funding, preservation review, and steps already taken toward construction. (4) MAKE CONGRESS’S POSITION CLEAR. Publicly support legislation preventing construction and urge the administration not to proceed while Congress considers the issue. Thank you.