Trump's plan for a triumphal arch gets initial green light from federal panel

The Commission of Fine Arts approved early designs for the project, which would be twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial and almost the same as the Capitol.

President Donald Trump’s planned triumphal arch for Washington cleared a key hurdle Thursday after its early designs secured approval from a federal arts panel whose members were handpicked by the president.

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The Commission of Fine Arts, which has a new slate after Trump fired the previous members last year, vets designs and major architectural projects in the nation’s capital. It does not have the final say on construction of the proposed arch.

Trump has proposed building a towering, 250-foot triumphal arch in honor of the country’s semiquincentennial, designed after the 164-foot Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The project would be the tallest triumphal arch in the world — and twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial and nearly as tall as the Capitol. Its proposed height has come under scrutiny given its proximity to Washington Reagan National Airport.