Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, announced plans to start work on the site of the 250-foot-tall triumphal arch. Final approval of the project is still pending.
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that President Trump could continue his construction of a huge new ballroom for the White House where the East Wing used to be.
Workers moving materials for Uzbek gazebos at West Potomac Park on Tuesday. President Trump’s expansive plans for the area also include reflecting pools, dining facilities and an amphitheater.
Joshua Fisher, the director of White House management and administration, estimated that the construction of the White House ballroom was 65 percent complete.
A pro-Palestinian demonstration at Lafayette Square Park in 2023. President Trump and the Secret Service have cited security concerns about such protests.
The Commission of Fine Arts, a Trump-aligned advisory body, granted preliminary approval. But its vice chairman suggested losing statues atop the structure and other revisions before a final vote.
The president has proposed the arch, which would rise on a Washington roundabout across from the Lincoln Memorial, as a way to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
President John F. Kennedy signing the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 in the Treaty Room. President Trump spoke last month to a group including some members of the Committee for Preservation of the White House and the Commission of Fine Arts about potentially turning the Treaty Room into a bedroom.
Many of America’s founders were fiercely against taking steps that would make its government officials appear like kings, and that included featuring them on the country’s coins.
The Commission of Fine Arts delayed a vote on the facility, a new, 33,000-square-foot security screening center for White House visitors, because of concerns over the design.
President Trump does not seem to have the same personal affinity for his proposed visitor center as he does for the ballroom, which he considers to be a legacy project.
The site of the demolished East Wing of the White House last month. President Trump has taken several steps to eliminate resistance to his ballroom plans.
The site of the demolished East Wing of the White House last month. President Trump has taken several steps to eliminate any pocket of resistance to his ballroom plans from within his administration.
President Trump emphasized that the ballroom would not be taller than the Executive Mansion of the White House, as he faces criticism over the size of the project.
The president has stacked a commission with allies as he has pushed to construct a 90,000-square-foot addition to the White House. A federal judge signaled he might block the project.
After pressure from preservationists, the administration is expected to present the plans to a planning commission and make them public for the first time.
President Trump with a model of his proposed ballroom last month. Mr. Trump surprised many in October when he abruptly tore down one side of the White House to make way for the ballroom.
Senator Richard Blumenthal is requesting information from an architect hired to oversee the ballroom design and people invited to a donor dinner with the president.
A federal judge said he would order the Trump administration to submit plans for the building by the end of the month, but allowed minor construction to continue for now.
Construction equipment for the new ballroom at the White House in November. President Trump’s vision for the project has steadily grown in scale from more modest proposals discussed in October.
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