Special Report: Trump's Triumphal Arch Is Approved — and Frozen for 14 Days. Here Is the Process Watch.
The National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 Thursday night to approve the 250-foot arch at Memorial Circle. Within about an hour, a federal district judge issued a 14-day restraining order. The White House says it will be "fully vindicated." Here is what was approved, what was blocked, and what comes next.
By Clara Hughes
President Donald Trump's arch for America's 250th birthday cleared its last planning hurdle on Thursday, Nov. 5 — and hit a courtroom wall the same night. This Special Report is the process desk for the project as it stood when this was written Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 (Asia/Colombo evening / U.S. Saturday morning). The approval The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal planning agency for the capital region, voted 8-4 to approve final site and building plans after a public hearing of more than nine hours, NBC News, CBS News and the AP reported. The four no votes came from commissioners not appointed by Trump, NBC reported. The National Park Service also approved the project late Thursday, Reuters reported. Commission Chair Mark Paoletta, general counsel at the Office of Management and Budget, called it a "national disgrace" that such a memorial had not already been built and praised Trump's "monumental vision," saying it would be "the grandest arch ever