Washington — president Donald Trump He plans to build a gallery of statues depicting prominent Americans in a tightly regulated park along the Potomac River, potentially opening a new legal battle over whether his administration is ignoring the approvals process that normally governs Washington’s massive heart as it squeezes through its muscles. Radical reform From the country’s capital.
In a social media post on Friday morning, Trump said the National Garden of American Heroes would be built in West Potomac Park, a space near the National Mall that includes the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The area is also home to several playgrounds and volleyball courts that are regularly used by local sports groups.
Trump described the area in his post as “a completely barren field for Prime Waterfront Real Estate along the mighty Potomac River.”
The president said that the park would commemorate the anniversary 250th anniversary of America’s founding With sculptures honoring 250 notable Americans who made significant cultural, political, and historical contributions to the country. He first raised the idea during Fourth of July celebrations in 2020, formulating it as a response to protests that led to the removal of controversial monuments, including those commemorating slave owners and Confederate leaders.
In the final days of his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order naming 244 people among them Ronald Reagan and Jackie Robinson Who should be honored with statues in the park. The idea has weakened under the president Joe BidenHe is a Democrat, but Congress provided $40 million under Trump’s big tax and spending cuts law last year to purchase the statues included in his executive orders.
However, that may not be enough to constitute the type of approval typically required for major projects on or near the National Mall. Federal law requires that projects and memorials obtain approval from multiple design and planning groups.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it was seeking such approvals or whether contracts for the statues had been awarded.
Washington’s historic heart is one of the most regulated in the country, with the goal of protecting sightlines and preventing new construction that would undermine the area’s history. Between the approvals process, design disputes, and funding challenges, changes to the field can take years—or even decades—to reach completion. One of the newest additions near the National Mall, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, took 21 years to finish after initially being approved by Congress in 1999.
Trump and his supporters have shown little interest in pursuing such measures. Move quickly this month to drain and repaint Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Suddenly demolished East wing From the White House last year to build the ballroom. Trump’s name has been added to the interface Kennedy Centerwhich plans to close later this summer for a two-year renovation.
Just this week, Workers began preliminary surveys And test the proposed site for Arc de Triomphe Trump seeks between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Part of the site has been fenced off, and pink flags typically used as survey markers have been planted on the grass.
The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to transform East Potomac Park from an accessible public golf course into what Trump has described as “America’s open-air course.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday released a design plan for the new course that he said would provide “championship-quality golf at affordable and deeply discounted prices.”
The plan provided few details about how the park, which is frequently used by local racers and bikers, would remain open to the general public.
Almost all projects have become subject to litigation.