The Cultural Landscape Foundation, VoteVets, and Home of the Brave Collaborate on New Video Urging Public Action to Prevent Construction of Monumental Arch near Arlington National Cemetery

Media Contact: Nord Wennerstrom | T: 202.483.0553  | M: 202.255.7076 | E: nord@tclf.org

2:33-minute video features Army Major General Paul Eaton (ret.), Karen Meredith, Gold Star Mother of Ken Ballard, and TCLF’s Charles A. Birnbaum – a co-branded project of VoteVets and Home of the Brave

Washington, D.C. (September 8, 2026) – The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), a national Washington, D.C.-based education and advocacy organization, today announced a collaboration with VoteVets and Home of the Brave on a new video “Stop Trump’s Arch”—released on September 8, 2026—created as part of a campaign urging public action to prevent the construction of a 250-foot-tall Monumental Arch on Memorial Circle, located between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The 2:33-minute long “Stop Trump’s Arch” features Army Major General (ret.) Paul Eaton, Karen Meredith, Gold Star Mother of First Lieutenant Ken Ballard who was killed in the Iraq war, and Charles A. Birnbaum, TCLF’s Founding President & CEO, and is a co-branded project of VoteVets and Home of the Brave. The purpose of the video is to inform and mobilize the public about the proposed Arch, the controversy around it, give voice to those opposed to it, and give people a means to mobilize against it. Viewers of the video are provided a QR code urged to contact the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which is expected to review the Arch at its October 1, 2026, meeting, and their members of the U.S. House and Senate, and call for the Arch project to be halted. The NCPC vote is one of the last major procedural barriers to the project, aside from Congressional action, which is not expected.

In “Stop Trump’s Arch,” Eaton states: “What the Trump administration proposes is to plant a 250-foot-tall arch [that would] …break sight line between the Lincoln Memorial and the cemetery which is entirely inappropriate and borders on sacrilege to the men and women buried [there].”

Karen Meredith notes: “I'm the proud Gold Star Mother of First Lieutenant Ken Ballard. He was killed in the Iraq War. Ken is buried at Arlington. So, for me, Arlington has been a nice, quiet place. This proposal by this administration doesn't bear well with me. There will be an observation deck. We don't need tourists overlooking funerals. I'm just appalled.”

TCLF’s Charles Birnbaum observes that the views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery “would be altered by a 250-foot-tall Monumental Arch.” He adds: “In 1916, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., the same year he wrote the enabling legislation for the National Park Service said to build a monumental feature such as an arch would be a slap in the face to the Lincoln Memorial.”

In early October 2025 President Trump announced the intention to construct a 250-foot-tall Monumental Arch on Memorial Circle, located between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery (though the arch’s architect, Nicolas Leo Charbonneau, Principal of the Sacred Architecture Studio at Harrison Design, shared a rendering of the Arch on Instagram on September 2, 2005). The Arch would be the second tallest monument after the Washington Monument. According to a report by CBS News on October 16, 2025: “CBS News' Ed O'Keefe asked the president who the arch is for, and Mr. Trump pointed at himself: ‘Me.’"

According to a July 2026 Washington Post-Ipsos poll, 65% of Americans were “dissatisfied” or “upset” with the proposed Monumental Arch (along with the new White House ballroom and painting the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall).

On February 19, 2026, three veterans, Michael Lemmon, Shaun Byrnes, and Jon Gundersen, and historian Calder Loth filed a lawsuit to prevent the Arch’s construction. They cited the absence of Congressional authorization required by the Commemorative Works Act of 1986. In addition, the Arch would require the approval of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The project would also be subject to the Height of Buildings Act of 1910, which limits buildings to a maximum height of 130 feet (commercial streets) and 90 feet (residential streets), and 160 feet for parts of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

On May 21, 2026, the CFA, comprised of seven commissioners appointed by the president, and chaired by Rodney Mims Cook, Jr., who has been actively promoting the construction of a monumental arch in the nation’s capital for more than 25 years, gave the project final design approval, despite not seeing final designs. NCPC, which is also stocked with the president’s appointees, gave preliminary approval on July 9, 2026. Then-Chair William Scharf also announced he believed the Height of Buildings Act did not apply to the Arch, though NCPC staff noted the commission has always seen that law as applying to all construction in the city. The next Section 106 consulting parties meeting to review the Arch is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9. The National Park Service issued a report on August 28, 2026, stating the project would negatively impact more dozens of sites; nevertheless; the administration has ruled out another location for the Arch.

On July 2, The Washington Post reported: “David Maloney, the [Washington’ D.C.’s] historic preservation officer, said the plan to build in Memorial Circle … would ‘severely damage an exceptional cultural landscape and one of the most important symbolic places in the nation.’”

Birnbaum said of the collaboration with VoteVets and Home of the Brave: “We are honored to have been asked to participate in this project. ‘Stop Trump’s Arch’ is powerful, compelling, and clearly articulates the immense and permanent harm the Arch would create and how deeply offensive it is to many veterans and Gold Star families. We join with VoteVets and Home of the Brave in urging the public to use the QR code and contact the National Capital Planning Commission and call your representatives and senators in Congress to stop this project.”

Eaton noted: “VoteVets and Home of the Brave know that to stop this project from moving forward, it will take a wide array of organizations joining together. Veterans and Gold Star families are leading the way but having the ability to collaborate with experts in the field of architecture and planning, as well as cultural preservation, is essential. We're proud to collaborate with The Cultural Landscape Foundation and have them share their expertise in our video.”

About VoteVets
Backed by over 1.5 million Veterans, military family members and their supporters, VoteVets Action Fund uses public issue campaigns to elevate the voices of Veterans on matters of national security, Veterans' care, and everyday issues that affect the lives of those who served, their families, and the country.

About Home of the Brave
Home of the Brave is a community of Americans who refuse to be silenced in the face of the Trump administration’s attacks on American democracy. We lift up the voices of people whose lives have been directly harmed by its actions.

About The Cultural Landscape Foundation
The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1998 with a mission of “connecting people to places.” TCLF educates and engages the public to make our shared landscape heritage more visible, identify its value, and empower its stewards. Through its website, publishing, lectures, and other events, TCLF broadens support and understanding for cultural landscapes. TCLF is also home to the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize.

EDITORS: Click here for artwork and click here for a transcript.

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