Sen. Tammy Duckworth fired off a letter Thursday to the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, asking the agency to hold the line against any potential pressure from President Donald Trump to greenlight his proposed triumphal arch without fully weighing aviation safety risks.
Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who serves as the top Democrat on the Senate’s aviation subcommittee, is raising alarms about Trump’s plan for a 250-foot (76-meter) arch in the nation’s capital. The structure, which Trump wants built to mark the country’s 250th anniversary, would stand more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial.
In her letter, Duckworth expressed concern that the FAA’s early review of the arch appeared to have been rushed. She questioned whether Trump or members of his White House staff are “already improperly pressuring FAA to prioritize rubberstamping Trump’s vanity arch over public safety.”
A National Park Service preliminary report, which Duckworth referenced in her letter to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, indicated that officials are aiming to finish the massive structure within three years. That timeline could require construction crews to work up to 20 hours a day, with cranes reaching as high as 320 feet (106 meters).
The FAA said it plans to respond to Duckworth directly.
A central concern in the letter is the arch’s location near the congested airspace surrounding Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport — the same airport where a U.S. Army helicopter and a commercial airliner collided last year, claiming 67 lives.
That disaster “underscores the consequences of inadequate coordination and the need for extreme caution when evaluating any new obstruction in this environment,” Duckworth wrote. She added that the FAA must be “firm in rejecting any improper or irresponsible pressure” from Trump regarding the project.
The FAA had previously stated that an early feasibility review found “no adverse impacts to operations” at the nearby airport, though it noted the top of the arch would require red obstruction lighting, which it described as “a common safety tool.” The agency said a more thorough study, conducted in partnership with the National Park Service, would follow.
Duckworth also raised a cultural concern, arguing that the arch would cut across the historic visual corridor between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, which she said would “offensively desecrate the hallowed symbolism” of that view.
