What we know about White House plans for an 'Arc de Trump'

US President Donald Trump wants to build a triumphal arch across from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, the latest in his efforts to make over the capital city in his style.

The so-called Arc de Trump would commemorate the country's 250th anniversary next year and is reportedly being privately funded by Trump's supporters.

A real estate developer by trade, Trump teased plans last week with renderings for the structure being laid out during an Oval Office meeting.

His other second-term developments include a gilded makeover for the White House, paving over the Rose Garden and constructing a $250m ballroom, as well as the clearing of homeless encampments throughout the capital.

What does Trump want to build?

It's not unusual for a sitting president or first lady to update the White House, but Trump appears to have his sights set on a farther reaching and widely seen development with the new monument.

The president wants the arch to be based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, and to welcome people into the nation's capital from Arlington National Cemetery as they cross the Memorial Bridge.

"Every time somebody rides over that beautiful bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, they literally say something is supposed be here. We have versions of it… This is a mock-up," Trump told donors on Wednesday night, referring to a grassy, circular area at the end of the bridge.

At a dinner to unveil his plans for the ballroom, Trump said there were three versions of the arch - small, medium and large - but that he liked the largest one the best.

Trump said the ballroom project was "fully financed" and some of the leftover money would be used to fund the arch.

It's not yet clear when construction will begin or how much it will cost.

Last week, Trump displayed renderings for the structure on the Resolute Desk showing a map of the Memorial Bridge that also included a replica of the Lincoln Memorial. A model of his proposed archway stood on the Virginia state side of the Potomac River.

On Saturday, Trump posted an illustration of a plan designed by Harrison Design architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau on Truth Social.

Charbonneau, a partner at Harrison Design, posted a watercolour rendering of the the proposal on social media on 4 September, writing: "America needs a triumphal arch!"

Where will he build it and how long will it take?

Plans for Trump's proposed arch are still taking shape but it is expected to be located across the Potomac River on federal land inside the district's boundaries.

Developing a memorial in the District of Columbia is complex given its unique status as the capital city, according to Dr Christine Henry, director of the Center for Historic Preservation at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

New commemorations typically need congressional approval as part of a 24-step plan developed by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which approves designs along with the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA).

Federal law prohibits new construction on the National Mall, which is typically the most desirable real estate for monuments.

Preston Bryant, a former chairman of the NCPC who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 and served until 2018 during Trump's first term, said he frequently heard from organisations that wanted to design a monument or memorial on the National Mall.

"The Mall is increasingly crowded and unable to accommodate all who want to have a monument or memorial somewhere on, adjacent to, or otherwise near it," he told the BBC.

Congress gave an exemption most notably in 2003 to make way for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016.

The location that Trump has his eye on appears to be a designated area that allows for new memorials, but only if they are of "preeminent historical and lasting significance to the United States".

But building a new memorial typically takes years and is unlikely to be ready before the nation's semiquincentennial.

"You have to look at the environmental impact of anything as well as all of these concerns about the aesthetics and the engineering so it usually takes several years to go through a process of designing a new memorial," Dr Henry said.

The approval process alone would take at least a year, according to Mr Bryant.

"If federal law is followed and the design goes through the NCPC and CFA review and approval process, to then be followed by construction, I have a hard time seeing how this arch will be designed, approved and constructed by July 4th of next year."

As for who will pay for the new memorial, the sponsors of an approved memorial have to raise the funds for it and federal law prohibits the use of government funds for such purposes. But that hasn't always been the case.

In 2005, Congress approved $10m for the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial to match what had been raised from private donors, according to a 2023 report from the Congressional Research Service.

What are Trump's other renovation plans?

According to Axios, Trump has had models and dioramas built for other projects he is considering and has directed how and where new marble-tiled floors would be laid in the White House.

He has also taken world leaders, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a delegation of Florida lawmakers on tours of the White House to show them his changes, some of which mirror the aesthetic of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

He unveiled a "Presidential Walk of Fame" along the West Wing colonnade in September, displaying gold-framed portraits of himself and the 44 other presidents along the white exterior wall.

In place of former President Joe Biden's headshot, Trump instead hung a photo of an autopen signing his name. The move appeared to refer to Trump's claim that Biden's use of the autopen signalled his decline at the end of his presidency, although it is common for US presidents to use such a tool.

Critics, including a guest essayist for the New York Times, have called his Oval Office remodel a "Gilded Rococo Nightmare".

The White House did not immediately respond on Wednesday to the BBC's request for further comment.