Republican Sen. Jim Banks has come out in support of President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., calling for it to serve as a template for the construction of more neoclassical architecture of its type in the capital.
Trump has proposed that a 250-foot triumphal arch be constructed on Columbia Island—a piece of land in the Potomac River.
“It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it sends a message that America is the greatest country in the history of the world,” Banks, R-Ind., told The Daily Signal in a statement about the proposed arch.
Banks introduced the Beautifying Civic Architecture Act in Sept. 2025, which seeks to codify Trump’s “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again” executive order.
Banks told The Daily Signal the bill “would ensure that more classically inspired projects like the Triumphal Arch are built in Washington, D.C., and around the country for many years to come.”
If it became law, it would make classical architecture the “preferred and default architecture” for federal buildings in Washington and would discourage brutalist and deconstructivist styles.
Trump’s proposed design for the arch, which would be the largest ever built, received initial approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a presidentially appointed board, in April.
The commission also approved a proposal to paint the granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The plans for the arch have yet to receive approval from the National Capital Planning Commission—the agency tasked with providing guidance on building in the capital region—or from Congress.
