The Trump administration scored a major court win recently with U.S. Supreme Court's decision on allowing the construction to resume on the White House ballroom structure that includes beefed up security measures for anyone who lives or works at the historic presidential complex.
Back in May, more details were revealed on a new Washington, D.C., project that President Trump had hinted about, a triumphal arch that will be taller than Paris' neo-classical monument, the Arc de Triomphe.
As RedState's Sister Toldjah wrote, then PressSec Karoline Leavitt filled people in the April submission of the project's plans, describing what it entails:
As RedState reported, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time that "this year we celebrate America's 250th birthday. In honor of this historic occasion, President Trump and the Department of the Interior will submit plans for the United States Triumphal Arch, which will be an architectural masterpiece to celebrate our history right here in Washington, D.C."
Further, she noted that it will "stand on the ground that is currently empty green space in Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, a man-made island in the Potomac River, managed by the National Park Service."
The most recent beautification effort, some home maintenance on the White House North Portico in July, totally enraged the Left, as my colleague Teri Christoph wrote.
Readers might not be surprised to hear that a new story in The New York Times has reports of the usual groups of whining people, well, whining over the administration's latest move they didn't get every leftist's okay on.
You see, the White House has been emboldened by the SCOTUS order about the ballroom, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announcing in a tweet on Friday that they are forging ahead in the next two weeks on " the excavation work necessary" for what will be called the Independence Arch.
The quibble? This announcement comes before several official approvals are finalized, and a lawsuit filed in hopes of stopping its construction gets resolved in the courts:
President Trump is breaking ground on his 250-foot-tall triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, even before a federal review panel has approved the project.
...
The rush to push ahead with work on the arch follows a familiar pattern for Mr. Trump, who has frequently embarked on large-scale changes to historic properties in Washington without approvals from Congress or anyone else. And it comes days after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to continue building a ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing.
Preservation organizations trying to block the president’s other construction projects had feared that the ruling would embolden the president to disregard those other legal challenges, too.
Here's Burgum's tweet:
We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln… pic.twitter.com/8aff90jKNd
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) September 3, 2026
"We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!)," he wrote, "we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery."
"This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World," Burgum added.
Who's suing over the arch?
According to the NYT:
A group of Vietnam War veterans has sued to stop construction, citing the lack of congressional approval for the project and arguing that the arch would obstruct the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
“This demonstrates that they’ve never really taken seriously what they’ve been saying to the court, which is ‘allow the process to work itself out,’” said Nicolas Sansone, a lawyer with Public Citizen Litigation Group leading a challenge to the arch, referring to Mr. Burgum’s post.
That process, he added, has not worked itself out. “And yet here they are announcing to the American people that they’re proceeding with construction,” he said.
Also, they griped about the timing:
The administration previously committed to provide 14 days’ notice in a legal filing that it intended to start construction. Instead, Mr. Sansone said, that notice arrived in a social media post.
Could it be that by not giving a heads up, the Trump administration is hoping to avoid more of these lawsuits? It's possible.
The History
But Burgum did not stop with one matter of fact tweet. He gave a history lesson on the fact that people or groups have been considering a monument in the space for - get this - over 125 years
For over 125 years, Congress and various congressionally chartered commissions decreed that a monumental work should adorn Columbia Island. In 1902, the U.S. Senate’s “McMillan Commission” called for “a concourse suited to memorial treatment be established” on the westerly… pic.twitter.com/p1Zbgrkzqj
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) September 3, 2026
For over 125 years, Congress and various congressionally chartered commissions decreed that a monumental work should adorn Columbia Island. In 1902, the U.S. Senate’s 'McMillan Commission' called for 'a concourse suited to memorial treatment be established' on the westerly terminus of the Memorial Bridge.
"In 1924, the congressional chartered Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission stated, '[Columbia Island] was always considered as a suitable site for formal park treatment, a fitting end for the Memorial Bridge, as well as an important feature in itself.' Specifically, the Commission called for 'a plaza with fitting architectural adornment in a measure supplemental to the Lincoln Memorial across the river,'” he continued.
He said that Congress meant to make the site part of "an Avenue of Heroes."
Despite Congress’s intent, the site became and remains today a barren traffic circle lacking any monumental treatment and significant historic value. In fact, the passage extending from Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery was meant to serve as an Avenue of… pic.twitter.com/0VgE0mvIiT
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) September 3, 2026
President Ulysses S. Grant's family, Burgum stated, "lamented that 'the central plaza on Columbia Island had never been undertaken and seems to be absolutely essential to link together the two parts of the project, namely the main bridge itself and the entrance to Arlington Cemetery.'”
In the years after World War II, Ulysses S. Grant III— who was the grandson of the former president and Union general Ulysses S. Grant, executive officer of the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission, and member of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission—decried the state…
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) September 3, 2026
The secretary finished up his lesson for the leftists and Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers by pointing out that D.C. "is the only major Western capital without an arch," with "[o]ver 70 major cities/capitals around the world, from London, Paris and Rome to Madrid, Athens and New Delhi, all showcas[ing] beautiful arches."
Aye, There's the Rub
Here's the thing that gets me. Deep below the fold in the NYTimes story, they admit that the Supreme Court's ruling could make it hard for this or similar suits to go forward - and the Democrats are chomping at the bit to stop the construction projects if they regain the majority in Noovember:
The recent Supreme Court ruling, which allowed construction of Mr. Trump’s planned ballroom to proceed, means that preservation groups could have a hard time achieving the legal standing to sue. Before Mr. Burgum’s announcement, the administration on Thursday filed a legal notice arguing that the arch suit should be dismissed for the same reasons the Supreme Court turned away the ballroom challenge. On Wednesday, it filed a similar notice in the lawsuit challenging the president’s plans to build a luxury golf course in East Potomac Park.
Democrats have suggested that if they retake the House after the midterm elections, they could sue to stop the president’s construction projects that have bypassed Congress.
It's called winning and the fact that the Democrats are flat out admitting they would cancel the plans for this arch and the other beautification efforts across the District, including the much-needed renovations to the Kennedy Center, says everything.
Just on Friday, there was more proof that Trump is doing the right thing in fixing up our nation's capital. Exclusively obtained photos of the Kennedy Center were shared by Newsmax journalist James Rosen
EXCLUSIVE: @TKCOfficial photographs, obtained by @NEWSMAX, show the Grand Foyer ceiling collapsing, likely due to water damage. Operations and Maintenance tonight ordered the Main Building closed immediately “to ensure the safety of staff, contractors, and any other personnel.” pic.twitter.com/jrcUyjfb07
— James Rosen (@JamesRosenTV) September 4, 2026
