Park Service's 133-Page Report Backs Trump's 250-Foot Arch, Saying the Damage to Washington's Sightlines Cannot Be Avoided

A National Park Service report released Friday endorses Trump's proposed 250-foot memorial arch at Memorial Circle even as it finds the structure is likely to disrupt the historical significance of dozens of nearby sites and the sightlines connecting the Washington Monument and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. The 133-page report says the effects cannot be "fully avoided without either relocating the Arch away from the historically identified site or eliminating the principal commemorative feature," and concludes that locations outside Memorial Circle are therefore not reasonable alternatives. It notes the arch would break the alignment among the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge and Arlington House.

The report converts the agency's earlier preservation findings into a justification for proceeding, and is expected to strengthen the administration's position in litigation brought by three veterans and an architectural historian.

The design already has early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members Trump appointed, and the National Capital Planning Commission approved the site and preliminary plans in July and is expected to take the matter up again this fall. Public Citizen attorney Nicolas Sansone said the report confirms the project's scale and that such a decision belongs to Congress.