Sign the petition: Do NOT glorify Trump with a giant arch in our nation's capital!
Dear MoveOn member,
It's no longer just a proposal—Trump's 250-foot vanity arch is moving forward.
Last month, workers began preliminary surveys and testing at the proposed site near Arlington National Cemetery.1 That means Trump is inching closer to permanently planting his self-glorifying monument in the heart of our nation’s capital.
But Congressional Democrats just introduced a bill to block Trump's arch, saying it violates the "reverence" of the Arlington National Cemetery. Now we have to make sure more lawmakers support the bill.2
Will you add your name to the petition right now and demand that Congress pull the plug on Trump's arch?
While everyday Americans struggle to afford groceries, housing, and healthcare, Trump is fast-tracking a $100 million arch—some of which will be paid for with taxpayer dollars—to glorify himself (near the sacred ground where 400,000 U.S. veterans are buried).3 Veterans are suing to block it.4 Democrats are sounding the alarm.5 And the law is on our side, as the Commemorative Works Act requires congressional approval for any memorial on federal land in D.C.6
But Trump is plowing ahead anyway, showing us exactly what he wants to be: a king.
Trump insists on glorifying himself through vanity projects like the "Arc de Trump." Add your name to oppose the construction of an arch in our capital!
If Trump is allowed to move forward with this construction, who knows what else he will feel emboldened to build in his image? He has already handed a no-bid, $13.1 million contract to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool "American flag blue"—treating one of our most iconic public spaces like it's a swimming pool at Mar-a-Lago.7
And let's not forget that Trump is pushing to stamp his own face on a $1 coin, in likely violation of federal law that prohibits living presidents from appearing on U.S. currency.8
Trump isn't just redecorating Washington—he's trying to enshrine himself in it. But our capital belongs to the people, and we need to make sure Congress hears us loud and clear before this project goes any further.
Join the chorus of more than 31,000 MoveOn members saying NO to Trump's giant arch by signing the petition today.
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Cheryl, Chris, Saskia, and the rest of the team
P.S. See our recent email below for more details on Trump's absurd vanity project.
Sources:
1. "Survey work begins for contested Trump Triumphal Arch project in Washington," AP News, May 11, 2026
https://apnews.com/article/trump-triumphal-arch-washington-42228fefe4e8c97820daabc3b268103d
2. "Trump arch plan violates ‘reverence' of Arlington National Cemetery, Beyer says," NBC Washington, June 1, 2026
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/virginia-congressman-introduces-bill-to-stop-triumphal-arch/4111232/
3. "As Arlington Cemetery Scrubs The Links Of Black Veterans, Legacies Are Becoming Invisible — Even Mine," Forbes, March 18, 2025
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2025/03/18/as-arlington-cemetery-scrubs-the-links-of-black-veterans-legacies-are-becoming-invisibleeven-mine/
4. "Vietnam Veterans sue to block proposed 'Independence Arch' near Arlington National Cemetery," NPR, February 21, 2026
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721786/vietnam-veterans-sue-trump-arch
5. "Democrats rip White House plan for ‘Arc de Trump,'" Courthouse News Service, March 11, 2026
https://www.courthousenews.com/democrats-rip-white-house-plan-for-arc-de-trump/
6. "Vietnam Veterans sue to block proposed 'Independence Arch' near Arlington National Cemetery," NPR, February 21, 2026
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721786/vietnam-veterans-sue-trump-arch
7. "Reflecting Pool Repairs to Cost $13.1 Million. Trump Had Promised $1.8 Million." The New York Times, May 11, 2026
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/us/politics/reflecting-pool-paint-contract-trump.html
8. "Treasury Defends Lawfulness of Minting a $1 Trump Coin," The New York Times, October 6, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/us/politics/treasury-trump-coin.html
Sign the petition: Do NOT glorify Trump with a giant arch in our nation's capital!
Dear MoveOn member,
As Trump undermines cultural landmarks like the Kennedy Center, defunds our museums and national parks, and censors our educational institutions, he is simultaneously aggrandizing himself. And his latest self-centered project? A 250-foot “Arc de Trump” near Arlington National Cemetery.9
The proposed arch is more than double the height of the 100-foot-tall Lincoln Memorial—a statue commissioned by Congress and erected three years after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.10
Last Saturday, more than 8 million people took to the streets to say that in America, we have no kings. But Trump continues to act like one—insisting on glorifying himself. Add your name to the petition to oppose the construction of an arch in our capital!
The construction of the $100 million arch is not only self-centered in a time when millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, it's unlawful.
Democrats have sounded the alarm about the monument, flagging that the arch should not be built on federal land without approval from Congress.11 If Trump is allowed to move forward with this construction, who knows what else he will feel emboldened to build in his image?
Our nation's capital belongs to us—the people—not to Trump. We need to protect public spaces that tell the story of our nation and stop Trump from taking them over. Will you sign the petition?
Trump is branding the construction as “Independence Arch,” but a group of veterans are calling it what it is—"a vanity project."12 Due to the lack of congressional approval, they’ve filed a lawsuit to block construction near the cemetery where 400,000 U.S. veterans are buried.13
From Democrats in Congress to veteran activists and MoveOn members like you, the opposition is mounting against Trump's arch, and we have the law on our side. The Commemorative Works Act makes it clear that any memorials constructed on federal land in Washington, D.C., need authorization from Congress.14 But we need to make sure that Congress hears us loud and clear and pulls the plug on this wasteful project.
Add your name to the petition and send a clear message that everyday Americans oppose Trump building an arch in our capital!
Trump said that taxpayer money wouldn't be used to build the arch, claiming that the millions in funds would come instead from private donors and corporations like tech companies—raising concerns about corruption and “pay-to-play” motivations. And we know that taxpayers would still be impacted—from the use of our roadways to other public services and goods that must function during such large-scale constructions.
Trump has failed to do anything to address inflation as everyday families struggle to afford groceries, housing, education, child care, and health care with skyrocketing costs. Instead, he's entangled us in forever wars that taxpayers fund and inflated the budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to kidnap and abuse our neighbors. And now, he wants to prioritize vanity projects that glorify him instead of leveraging those connections and that access to funds to benefit the American people.
It's shameful.
There is mounting resistance to Trump's self-glorification. Just this week a federal judge ruled that Trump must stop construction on the White House ballroom until there is approval from Congress. Sign the petition and, together, we can build on this momentum and make sure that Trump’s arch is never built.
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Cheryl, Chris, Saskia, and the rest of the team
Sources:
9 "Democrats rip White House plan for ‘Arc de Trump,'" Courthouse News Service, March 11, 2026
https://www.courthousenews.com/democrats-rip-white-house-plan-for-arc-de-trump/
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. "Vietnam Veterans sue to block proposed 'Independence Arch' near Arlington National Cemetery," NPR, February 21, 2026
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721786/vietnam-veterans-sue-trump-arch
13. "As Arlington Cemetery Scrubs The Links Of Black Veterans, Legacies Are Becoming Invisible — Even Mine," Forbes, March 18, 2025
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2025/03/18/as-arlington-cemetery-scrubs-the-links-of-black-veterans-legacies-are-becoming-invisibleeven-mine/
14. "Vietnam Veterans sue to block proposed 'Independence Arch' near Arlington National Cemetery," NPR, February 21, 2026
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721786/vietnam-veterans-sue-trump-arch
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