After nearly nine hours of heated public testimony, the U.S. National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) voted 8-4 on Thursday to greenlight the Trump administration’s proposed 250-foot (72-meter) monumental arch on Columbia Island in Washington D.C., a project billed as a commemorative landmark for the nation’s 250th founding anniversary that has already sparked fierce pushback from veterans, lawmakers and community members. Dubbed by critics the “Arc de Trump” as a deliberate parallel to Paris’s iconic Arc de Triomphe, the gilded design features a winged Lady Liberty statue flanked by two golden eagles at its peak, with the inscriptions “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” etched in gold across its facades. The administration has framed the structure as far more than a decorative monument: it is set to double as a secured storage complex for military hardware, with built-in deployment capabilities for snipers and drones, a feature former President Donald Trump boasted on his Truth Social platform would make it “the only facility of its kind anywhere in the world.” Trump previously claimed Washington D.C. was the only major global capital lacking a triumphal arch, though he did not provide supporting details for that assertion. NCPC chairman Mark Paoletta, a Trump appointee, defended the vote, noting the project aligns with a century-old congressional master plan to erect a landmark on Columbia Island that honors U.S. national identity, military veterans, and serves as a dignified monumental gateway to the adjacent Arlington National Cemetery. Yet the approval has done little to defuse widespread anger among opponents, many of whom are military veterans with direct ties to the hallowed cemetery that holds the remains of hundreds of thousands of fallen U.S. service members. Retired 29-year U.S. military and diplomatic service veteran Anne Wright told reporters she and a coalition of fellow veterans, including some who use wheelchairs, are prepared to stage acts of nonviolent civil disobedience to block construction, chaining themselves and their mobility aids to heavy equipment to halt work before it can begin. Wright pointed to the recent midterm election results, where Trump’s Republican Party lost control of Congress, as proof that the public has already rejected what she called the former president’s ego-driven, divisive policy agenda. Air Force Vietnam-era veteran John Pomeroy, whose own parents are interred at Arlington, dismissed the administration’s military storage pitch as a “silly, half-baked idea” that would turn the prominent landmark into a high-profile target for terrorist attacks, while also eroding the quiet, solemn atmosphere that defines visits to the national cemetery. Democratic Congressman Jared Huffman went further during public comment, arguing the massive arch would not only block unobstructed sightlines to Arlington National Cemetery but also mar the historic view of the Lincoln Memorial, disrupting a carefully preserved vista meant to honor American unity and collective sacrifice. He derided the project as a self-serving vanity monument rather than a national tribute, noting triumphal arches were historically commissioned by emperors and kings to celebrate their own personal conquests. Multiple pending lawsuits now threaten to derail the entire development, with plaintiffs raising formal objections over unaddressed environmental impacts, projected severe traffic congestion in the surrounding area, public safety risks, and unresolved legal questions over whether the project ever required explicit congressional authorization to move forward. The arch is just one of several controversial, Trump-backed construction projects across Washington D.C. facing active legal pushback, including a proposed $400 million White House ballroom renovation and a planned overhaul of a 106-year-old local golf course the former president has infamously nicknamed “Trash Island.” While the Trump administration initially claimed construction could break ground as early as this week, no definitive start date has been confirmed amid the mounting legal hurdles and grassroots resistance.