The administration of US President Donald Trump does not plan to seek congressional approval for the construction of a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
According to Oxu.Az, reporting on The Washington Post, the White House believes that authorities granted nearly a century ago for a different architectural concept are sufficient to proceed.
The arch is to be erected on Columbia Island in Washington, D.C., in the Memorial Circle area. Surveying and engineering work began last week. The administration is also seeking necessary permits from federal architecture and construction commissions.
Under federal law, erecting monuments on National Park Service land requires a specific act of Congress. White House officials are evading questions about whether they will apply for such permission. Sources claim no such plan exists.
Officials cite a 1924 commission report that proposed two 166-foot columns on Columbia Island. Congress approved the project in 1925, but the columns were never built. The Trump administration argues the new arch is a continuation of that concept.
The Justice Department stated in a court document that Congress effectively approved the arch project nearly a century ago by formalizing the commission's report. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum insists the current initiative is "based on" the original idea: the columns will retain 166 feet in height, with the total 250 feet (about 76 meters) achieved through a pedestal and statues.
Lawyers trying to halt the project and congressional Democrats call this interpretation unfounded. Attorneys argue that the 1920s authority applied only to the bridge construction and cannot be extended to the arch.
