Key federal agency approves the design plan for Trump’s Washington arch

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation’s capital, a key step in the project’s process but one that has no immediate bearing on the timeline for construction.

Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

At the White House, Trump told reporters he thought the vote was “fantastic” adding that “we’re the only important and major city that doesn’t have one.”

The commission only oversees designs and has no role in the actual construction or funding of the arch or any other project it considers. Preliminary surveys and testing of the arch site began last week. The National Capital Planning Commission, a separate federal agency that approves construction on federal land, has the arch on the agenda at i...