Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
D.C. arch does not need Congress' approval, Trump says
Posted
May 22, 2026
Views
7,193
Likes
74
Engagement
1.03%
May 22, 2026
7,193
74
1.03%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
1:59Now PlayingPresident Donald Trump's plan for a 250-foot triumphal arch in the Washington, D.C., area moved one step closer to reality Thursday.
The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, whose members were entirely appointed by Trump, approved the design for the arch set to be constructed on a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
After a reporter told Trump about the commission's vote, the president called the result "fantastic."
The 250-foot arch project is one of several the president has pursued to leave his mark on the nation's capital.
A group of Vietnam War veterans is seeking to block the arch's construction with a lawsuit. The veterans argue that according to the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, building the arch requires authorization from Congress.
Trump, on the other hand, told reporters Thursday that the land is owned by the Interior Department. "We don't need anything from Congress," he said.
Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desjardins
Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters
PBS News podcasts
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app
Find more from PBS News at
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
