President Donald Trump has announced plans for a new exhibit of statues featuring prominent Americans to be located in a highly regulated park along the Potomac River.
The proposal for the National Garden of American Heroes could ignite a fresh legal battle, as critics suggest his administration may be bypassing standard approval procedures that typically govern Washington D.C.’s monumental core as he pushes for significant changes to the nation’s capital.
In a social media post on Friday morning, Trump specified West Potomac Park as the intended site. This area, situated near the National Mall, is already home to several significant landmarks, including the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The park also features fields and volleyball courts frequently utilized by local sports organizations.
Trump characterized the location in his post as a “totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River.”
The president has said the garden would commemorate America’s 250th anniversary with sculptures recognizing 250 prominent Americans who have made significant cultural, political and other historical contributions to the country. He first raised the idea during Fourth of July celebrations in 2020 and has framed it as a response to protests that resulted in the removal of controversial monuments, including those that commemorated slave owners and Confederate leaders.
In the final days of his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order naming 244 people including Ronald Reagan and Jackie Robinson who should be honored with statues in the garden. The idea languished under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, but Congress provided $40 million under Trump’s big tax and spending cuts law last year to procure the statues included in his executive orders.
That may not be enough, however, to constitute the type of approval typically needed for major projects on or near the National Mall. Federal law requires projects and memorials to get a sign-off from multiple design and planning groups.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it was seeking such approvals and or whether contracts have been awarded for the statues.
Washington’s monumental core is one of the nation’s most closely regulated spaces, with the goal of protecting sight lines and preventing new construction that would undermine the area’s history. Between the approvals process, design disputes and funding challenges, changes in the area 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 Congress initially approved it in 1999.
Trump and his supporters have shown little interest in following such procedures. He moved quickly this month to drain and repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He suddenly demolished the East Wing of the White House last year to build a ballroom. Trump’s name has been added to the facade of the Kennedy Center, which he plans to close later this summer for a two-year renovation.
Just this week, workers began preliminary surveys and testing of the proposed site of a triumphal arch Trump is seeking between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Part of the site was fenced off, and pink flags typically used as survey markings were planted in the grass.
And 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 a “U.S. Open-caliber 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, highly discounted rates.”
The plan provided few details on how open the park, which is frequently used by local runners and bikers, would remain to the general public.
Virtually all of the projects have become subject to litigation.
