President Trump’s plan to erect a towering 250-foot gilded triumphal arch at the gateway to Washington, D.C., has secured its first major federal approval after the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted unanimously in favor of the concept design. The panel—which was fully reshaped by the president following the firing of all previous members last October—cleared the project’s initial submission ahead of a required revision from architect Nicolas Charbonneau.

The approved design features a 250-foot structure crowned by a winged Lady Liberty figure holding a torch, flanked by gilded eagles on either side and guarded at its base by four gilded lions. The monument will inscribe the phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” in gold lettering along its sides. Standing roughly two and a half times taller than the Lincoln Memorial and nearly as tall as the U.S. Capitol, the arch will sit on Columbia Island in the Potomac River near the Arlington Memorial Bridge, serving as a gateway from Arlington National Cemetery into the District of Columbia.

The Commission’s approval has drawn significant public opposition, with nearly 1,000 complaints filed against the project. Protesters gathered outside the National Building Museum, holding signs reading “Stop Arch Insanity,” “No Trump Arch,” and “No Vanity Arch.” Many critics condemned the design as a “waste of money and misuse of funds,” claimed it would obstruct historic views, disrupt the landscape, and constitute inappropriate imperial or political symbolism. Others argued the monument was “gaudy, oversized, incompatible, and disrespectful to Arlington National Cemetery and military sacrifice.”

Internal pushback from the Commission itself included concerns raised by Vice Chair James McCrery II, an architect who previously worked on Trump’s White House ballroom project. McCrery suggested removing three statues that accounted for 84 feet of the arch’s height and objected to a proposed 250-foot underground visitor pathway, noting the base lions did not traditionally represent “American” symbolism.

Despite legal challenges from veterans and historians arguing congressional approval is required before construction begins, the White House maintains momentum. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum described the arch as embodying “American freedom,” while the administration frames it as a tribute to military service. The project’s architects confirm revisions are underway ahead of the Commission’s next vote, with President Trump insisting the monument will become “the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World.”