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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump’s hand-picked arts commission is clearing the way for his building spree.
What happened? On Thursday, the Commission of Fine Arts signed off on Trump’s plans for a massive 250-foot-tall triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, which critics warn would dwarf its surroundings and “fundamentally [alter] a meticulously preserved skyline.”
Trump has said the arch, intended to mark America’s 250th anniversary, would also celebrate himself.
What’s the context? The vote is another rubber stamp from a group eager to let Trump remodel DC as he sees fit: Earlier this year, the commission also approved Trump’s plan for a new ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House and a commemorative gold coin bearing the president’s scowling face.
The panel’s eagerness is unsurprising, as all seven members were appointed by Trump earlier this year. The committee’s vice-chair, James McCrery II, was the original architect for Trump’s ballroom, while another member, Chamberlain Harris, currently works in the White House.
Is it going to get built? We’ll see. The arch still needs to clear an additional Trump-friendly committee, which shouldn’t be an obstacle, but the Trump administration is also facing a lawsuit to stop the project from a group of Vietnam veterans.
The suit argues that the arch, which would be built on National Park Service land, also requires congressional approval. The administration, meanwhile, argues that it can rely on a 1924 report to authorize the arch, without having to go back to Congress in the present day.
What’s the big picture? Things like the arch and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — now being repainted with help from a Trump golf club manager — can feel secondary compared to Trump’s flagrant public graft and wars of choice, but they’re all part of the same story: a president and administration growing increasingly uninterested in public opinion.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Hi readers, let’s start with a programming note: The Logoff will be off tomorrow and on Monday for the long weekend. I hope you have a lovely holiday!
Now, some wonderfully good news from my colleague Dylan Scott: Scientists are finally making real progress toward treating pancreatic cancer after decades of failures. You can read his full story with a gift link here, and we’ll see you on Tuesday!
