- Published
Construction of President Donald Trump's "triumphal arch" in Washington has been given federal approval despite some public opposition.
asserted
Construction → publish → opposition
The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) voted 8-4 on Thursday to allow construction of the planned 250ft (72m) arch, which the Trump administration has said could begin as early as this week, though legal challenges threaten to block it.
uncertain
challenges → vote → it
Trump appointees on the board said the arch would be a fitting tribute to US history and to veterans.
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arch → say → veterans
Opponents argue it will block the view of Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of thousands of US soldiers and servicepeople.
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it → argue → soldiers
Some protesters said they would use their bodies to block any construction.
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they → say → construction
The so-called Arc de Trump - a play on the name of the famous arch in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe - is one of the US president's efforts to remake the capital city in his style and is meant to commemorate the country's 250th anniversary.
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Trump → call → anniversary
The approval on Thursday evening came after nearly nine hours of public comment.
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approval → come → comment
It is not yet clear when construction of the arch could start, as a number of lawsuits are seeking to block it.
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number → start → it
A rendering of the project's design from earlier this year includes a golden, winged Lady Liberty statue on the top of the arch, flanked by two gold eagles,.
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rendering → include → eagles
The phrases "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice for All" are inscribed in gold on either side of the structure.
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phrases → inscribe → structure
The Trump administration has said the arch would double as a complex to store military equipment - complete with the ability to deploy snipers and drones.
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arch → say → snipers
"There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World," Trump previously wrote on his Truth Social platform.
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Trump → write → platform
He added that out of "the 59 top cities and Capitals", Washington is "the only one in the world that does not have a triumphal arch".
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that → add → arch
He did not specify which cities he was referring to.
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he → specify → cities
Mark Paoletta, the chairman of the NCPC and one of the Trump appointees, said at Thursday's meeting that the president understood "it's important to our national identity to display who we are through grand monuments".
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we → say → monuments
He and other commissioners said the structure fulfils a 100-year plan to build a monumental work on Columbia Island, just as Congress and various commissions intended.
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Congress → say → Island
Paoletta added that the arch would honour the nation, its veterans and "provide the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery with the monumental gateway it deserves".
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it → add → gateway
Opponents have strongly disagreed.
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Opponents → disagree → ?
Anne Wright, who spent 29 years in US military and also worked in the diplomatic service, told the BBC she would try to stop any construction.
"We'll tie ourselves to the bulldozer, we've got veterans in wheelchairs and we'll chain the wheelchairs to these things," she said.
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she → spend → things
Wright referenced this week's midterm elections, in which Trump's Republican Party lost control of Congress, saying: "[Trump's] policy of war, of ego, they've been rejected."
Fellow veteran John Pomeroy - who served in the Air Force for six years, including during the Vietnam War, and whose parents are buried at Arlington - said the arch "would lessen the solemn nature of a visit to the cemetery".
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arch → reference → cemetery
He described Trump's suggestion that the arch could store military equipment as "silly" and a "half-baked idea", arguing it would be a target for terrorist attacks.
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it → describe → attacks
Like Wright, Pomeroy said he would "impede construction workers as much as I can" if they came to the site to begin work.
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they → say → work
Democratic Congressman Jared Huffman argued in his statement to the commission that the arch would disrupt sightlines not just of Arlington but of the Lincoln Memorial, fracturing "a view meant to underscore the unity and sacrifice of the American people, and doing that with a structure we often associate with emperors or kings who built grand arches as tributes to themselves".
"This is a tribute to Donald Trump," Huffman added.
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Huffman → argue → Trump
Lawsuits have been filed against the plans, raising concerns about the environment, traffic congestion and safety.
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Lawsuits → file → environment
There is also a disagreement over whether congressional approval is needed to build the arch.
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approval → be → arch
It is one of several construction projects Trump has proposed for the US capital.
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Trump → propose → capital
That includes at the White House, where he is facing legal challenges over the construction of a ballroom, which is estimated to cost $400m (£300m).
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which → include → 400
His plans to renovate a 106-year-old golf course, which he has dubbed "trash island", is also being challenged in the courts.
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he → renovate → courts
The Aporia
