Administration Says It Can Build Arch Without OK From Congress

The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to build a 250-foot arch on federal land in Washington without asking Congress to approve, arguing it already has the authority under a century-old law. The arch would rise from Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, near the Lincoln Memorial, where survey and testing crews began work last week. Administration officials maintain that a 1924 report by the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission, later ratified by Congress, provides sufficient authorization, the Washington Post reports.

Federal law generally requires Congress to approve new monuments on protected National Park Service land, including Memorial Circle, and the administration has repeatedly declined to say whether it will seek explicit authorization. Two people familiar with internal discussions said there are no active plans to do so, per the Post. The project is currently under review by the Commission of Fine Arts and another federal design panel. Opponents—including military veterans, an architectural historian, and several senior Democrats on land and resources committees—have sued to block construction.