A bipartisan coalition of six lawmakers sent a sharp warning Monday to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron, asserting that the Trump administration lacks the legal authority to construct a 250-foot triumphal arch on federal land in Washington, D.C., without explicit congressional approval.
In their letter, the lawmakers—including Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Representatives Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), and Yaasmin Ansari (D-Ariz.)—called the proposed project both illegal and a violation of established federal law. They specifically cited the Height of Buildings Act and the Commemorative Works Act, both of which require congressional authorization for new structures of this scale and nature.
“We oppose this project in the strongest terms and object to execution of the draft Programmatic Agreement,” the lawmakers wrote. “The National Park Service is assessing the effects of an undertaking that Congress has never authorized and that two federal statutes squarely prohibit.”
The letter emphasized that the National Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 review process cannot substitute for the missing congressional mandate. “Section 106 consultation cannot supply that missing authority, and no programmatic agreement can resolve the adverse effects of a project the NPS has no power to build,” they added.
The arch, which would stand near Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, lies along a historic sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Lawmakers argued that the structure would disrupt a deliberately preserved vista. “A departure of this magnitude from the capital’s settled vertical order is precisely the kind of decision the law reserves to Congress,” they wrote. “Beyond its illegality, the Arch would deface one of the most deliberate and historic sightlines in America.”
The dispute is not confined to Capitol Hill. Vietnam War veterans have filed a lawsuit raising similar objections, arguing that the arch violates existing protections for commemorative works. Meanwhile, two House Democrats have introduced legislation aimed at blocking the project outright.
Despite these challenges, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved a modified design for the arch last month. The Trump administration maintains that projects on Interior Department land do not require congressional sign-off. A department spokesperson told The Hill that the arch is intended to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, inspire patriotism, and enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery. “The arch will also enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike,” the spokesperson said.
But lawmakers warned that any official or contractor moving forward with the project does so at their own legal risk. “No valid authority has been conferred here. Every official who directs this work, and every firm that performs it, proceeds at their own peril,” the letter stated. They pointed to a long-standing precedent: “If the Administration believes the semiquincentennial warrants a permanent commemorative work in the capital, the path is open and well worn; it runs through Congress, as it has for every memorial since the Continental Congress approved the first, an equestrian statue of George Washington, in 1783.”
The arch controversy is the latest flashpoint in a broader pattern of executive overreach. The administration has also faced pushback on other fronts, including demands to impeach a senator over Iran deal criticism and reluctance to attend a key signing ceremony. As the legal battle unfolds, the question of who controls public monuments in the nation’s capital remains unresolved.
