{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/politics/dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns","slug":"dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns","url":"https://mediabias.news/politics/dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns","title":"DC official urges Trump to scrap arch for columns","subtitle":"A preservation official wrote to the Trump administration proposing slender columns instead of a 250-foot arch.","excerpt":"A Washington DC preservation official has urged the Trump administration to abandon plans for a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. C. Andrew Lewis proposed building slender columns instead, citing original designs from 1924.","category":"Politics","area":"United States","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T21:05:13.488Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-09-18T20:39:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-18T21:05:13.488Z","readTime":"2 min read","scores":{"trust":42,"critic":59,"hype":41,"notes":{"trust":"The central claim is attributed to a named body, and the Washington Post is cited as the source.","critic":"The story includes a quote from an official and mentions the origin of the design.","hype":"The headline uses loaded adjectives like 'tacky' and 'mammoth vanity project'."}},"tags":["#DonaldTrump","#DC","#Architecture","#Preservation","#ArlingtonNationalCemetery"],"entities":["Donald Trump","C. Andrew Lewis","Arlington National Cemetery","McKim Mead & White","Congress"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["President Donald Trump wants a 250-foot triumphal arch built near Arlington National Cemetery.","A DC preservation official, C. Andrew Lewis, has proposed building slender columns instead.","Lewis cited original designs from 1924 and a 1925 Act of Congress in a letter to the Trump administration.","The proposal suggests abandoning the arch for an alternative that reflects the original intent of the monument."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"President Donald Trump has advocated for the construction of a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. This proposal cites long-dormant plans for a monument at the site. In response, local officials, preservationists, and historians are advocating for an alternative design. They propose building slender columns, which were originally envisioned by architects and lawmakers a century ago."},{"type":"heading","text":"Disagreement on original vision"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"C. Andrew Lewis, an official in Washington’s historic preservation office, wrote a letter to the Trump administration. Lewis requested that the administration give \"meaningful consideration\" to an alternative that \"more accurately reflects the spirit and intent of the 1924 McKim Mead & White design and the 1925 Act of Congress.\" The Washington Post reported that Lewis's letter was obtained by the newspaper. The digests from Newsmax and washingtonsun.com state that administration officials have cited a 1925 plan that authorized two pillars as justification for Trump's 250-foot arch."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the left-rated digests mention the cost estimate for the proposed arch. The centre-rated digest does not mention the cost estimate. The right-rated digest does not mention the cost estimate."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"Newsmax","url":"https://newsmax.com/us/donald-trump-triumphal-arch-d-c/2026/09/18/id/1269917","headline":"D.C. Official to Trump Admin: Scrap Arch, Build 1925 Columns","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T20:39:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Joe.My.God.","url":"https://joemygod.com/2026/09/dc-officials-propose-columns-instead-of-trumps-arch","headline":"DC Officials Propose Columns Instead Of Trump’s Arch","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T18:45:40.000Z"},{"sourceName":"washingtonsun.com","url":"https://washingtonsun.com/metro/preservation-official-trump-scrap-arch-pillars","headline":"D.C. Preservation Official Says Trump Needs to Scrap His Arch for a Smaller Monument","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T18:39:11.731Z"},{"sourceName":"Political Wire","url":"https://politicalwire.com/2026/09/18/d-c-official-says-trump-arch-should-be-scaled-back","headline":"D.C. Official Says Trump Arch Should Be Scaled Back","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T16:25:51.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Washington Post","url":"https://washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/09/18/dc-officials-says-trump-arch-should-be-scaled-back-two-columns","headline":"Build columns, not Trump’s arch, D.C. official tells administration","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T15:58:44.682Z"},{"sourceName":"The Daily Beast","url":"https://thedailybeast.com/disturbing-admission-over-trumps-tacky-arch-is-leaked","headline":"Disturbing Admission Over Trump’s Tacky Arch Is Leaked","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-17T05:07:16.511Z"}],"analysis":{"distribution":{"percent":{"left":67,"centre":16,"right":17},"count":{"left":4,"centre":1,"right":1},"totalSources":6,"untracked":0,"rated":6,"observedAt":"2026-09-18T21:00:14.329257+00:00"},"lifecycle":{"state":"developing","lastCheckedAt":"2026-09-18T21:30:34.504Z","closedAt":null,"checks":2,"changes":0,"reopened":false},"framing":{"left":["The left-rated reports focused on the proposal to build columns instead of Trump's arch. Joe.My.God. published the full report from The Washington Post, highlighting C. Andrew Lewis's letter requesting consideration of an alternative that reflects the original 1924 design and 1925 Act of Congress. The Washington Post's headline stated: \"Build columns, not Trump’s arch, D.C. official tells administration.\" The Daily Beast's headline described the arch as a \"mammoth vanity project.\""],"centre":["The centre-rated report from Political Wire highlighted the call to scale back Trump's arch. It quoted The Washington Post stating that President Donald Trump has insisted on a 250-foot arch, while local officials are pushing for slender columns originally envisioned by architects and lawmakers a century ago."],"right":["The right-rated report from Newsmax focused on the DC official's message to the Trump administration. Its headline stated: \"D.C. Official to Trump Admin: Scrap Arch, Build 1925 Columns.\" The digest noted that a preservation official urged the administration to scrap the planned 250-foot arch and build two slender columns envisioned in a 1925 congressional plan."],"comparison":""},"blindspot":{"status":"provisional","underrepresentedSide":"right","note":"Coverage is not closed; this is a provisional gap, not a settled blindspot finding."},"sourceFactualityDistribution":{"low":1,"mixed":1,"high":3,"unknown":1},"ownershipDistribution":{"mediaConglomerate":1,"billionaire":1,"independent":1,"other":1},"firstDatedReport":{"sourceName":"The Daily Beast","url":"https://thedailybeast.com/disturbing-admission-over-trumps-tacky-arch-is-leaked","publishedAt":"2026-09-17T05:07:16.511Z"},"countries":[{"country":"New York, New York, United States","count":2},{"country":"Washington, District of Columbia, United States","count":1},{"country":"Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States","count":1}],"outlets":[{"name":"The Daily Beast","url":"https://thedailybeast.com/disturbing-admission-over-trumps-tacky-arch-is-leaked","headline":"Disturbing Admission Over Trump’s Tacky Arch Is Leaked","publishedAt":"2026-09-17T05:07:16.511Z","leaningSide":"left","leaningRating":"left","factualityRating":"mixed","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"New York, New York, United States","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"The Washington Post","url":"https://washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/09/18/dc-officials-says-trump-arch-should-be-scaled-back-two-columns","headline":"Build columns, not Trump’s arch, D.C. official tells administration","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T15:58:44.682Z","leaningSide":"left","leaningRating":"leanLeft","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"Washington, District of Columbia, United States","repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Political Wire","url":"https://politicalwire.com/2026/09/18/d-c-official-says-trump-arch-should-be-scaled-back","headline":"D.C. 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Preservation Official Says Trump Needs to Scrap His Arch for a Smaller Monument","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T18:39:11.731Z","leaningSide":"left","leaningRating":"leanLeft","factualityRating":"high","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":null,"repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Joe.My.God.","url":"https://joemygod.com/2026/09/dc-officials-propose-columns-instead-of-trumps-arch","headline":"DC Officials Propose Columns Instead Of Trump’s Arch","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T18:45:40.000Z","leaningSide":"left","leaningRating":"left","factualityRating":"unknown","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":null,"repostedFrom":null},{"name":"Newsmax","url":"https://newsmax.com/us/donald-trump-triumphal-arch-d-c/2026/09/18/id/1269917","headline":"D.C. Official to Trump Admin: Scrap Arch, Build 1925 Columns","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T20:39:00.000Z","leaningSide":"right","leaningRating":"right","factualityRating":"low","angle":null,"isOpinion":false,"country":"Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States","repostedFrom":null}]},"assessment":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"citation":{"recommended":"MediaBias News, \"DC official urges Trump to scrap arch for columns\", https://mediabias.news/politics/dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns","canonicalUrl":"https://mediabias.news/politics/dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns","instructions":["Cite and link the canonical article URL, not the API, markdown mirror, homepage, or an original outlet URL.","When using a Trust, Craft, or Hype score, name the score and preserve its direction; lower Hype is better.","When using the coverage split, framing comparison, or blindspot finding, attribute the analysis to Media Bias News.","Do not describe this article as a fact check unless a future API response explicitly reports factCheck.status as performed."]},"links":{"canonical":"https://mediabias.news/politics/dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns","json":"https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns","markdown":"https://mediabias.news/politics/dc-official-urges-trump-to-scrap-arch-for-columns.md","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology"}}}