Washington — President Trump says he wants the new triumphal arch he's commissioning as a gate to Washington, D.C., to be the "biggest one of all" in the world, even though the proposed site is situated along a flight path for nearby Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.  

The design continues to be refined, and the president has said it will be larger than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which stands at 164 feet tall, according to a White House official. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the president wants to build a 250-foot arch, aligning with the 250th anniversary of the country, which would dwarf even the tallest triumphal arch in the world, the 220-foot-tall Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City. For comparison, the Lincoln Memorial, which sits opposite the Memorial Bridge of the would-be arch site, is 99 feet tall. 

The White House plans to seek approval to build the Independence Arch from the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, the White House official said.

"I'd like it to be the biggest one of all," Trump told reporters Sunday night on Air Force One. "We're the biggest, most powerful nation."

Planes can't cross over the National Mall in Washington due to flight restrictions, and the same is true of the Pentagon, so current flight paths leave them to follow the Potomac River, at relatively low heights. 

The Federal Aviation Administration referred CBS News to the White House when asked if the FAA has concerns about the possible arch height, given the DCA flight path. 

"The arch is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world," said White House spokesman Davis Ingle. "President Trump's bold vision will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and be felt by generations to come. His successes will continue to give the greatest nation on earth — America — the glory it deserves."

It appears nothing about the arch project has been submitted to the FAA's Obstruction Evaluation/Airport Airspace Analysis site. 

Mr. Trump announced his plans for a new triumphal arch last year, and showed a model to reporters in October. On Jan. 23, the president posted images of an arch to Truth Social, without comment. The president told Politico in December that he hoped construction on the project would begin in two months. It's not clear how much the project will cost. 

DCA flight paths have already been under intense scrutiny following the deadly January 2025 crash in which a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a commercial American Airlines plane over the Potomac River. A total of 67 people died in the deadliest commercial crash in the U.S. in years. The helicopter was flying at 278 feet above the river, higher than its required maximum altitude of 200 feet, and collided with the plane. The U.S. government admitted liability in December. 

The president's plans for the arch come as he announced over the weekend that the Kennedy Center, pending approval of the Trump-allied board, will shut down for two years for construction, as he looks to transform key pieces of federal architecture.