Dems unload on Trump’s latest DC update with ‘Christian Nationalist’ broadside, legal push

Democrats are ramping up their battle against President Donald Trump’s planned installation of the Memorial Circle arch, pairing heated attacks with a legal push to stop the project in court.

"Democrats are opposed to anything that celebrates the greatness of our Country because they are America last losers," said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday. "The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world."

Democratic lawmakers are ramping up opposition to President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch, questioning its cost and symbolism after the design’s unveiling Friday, as legal challenges to presidential authority continue to play out. 

"While you worry about healthcare and the price of gas [because] of Trump’s war, he’s busy designing a 250-foot arch he's calling the ‘Arc d'Trump’ #allabouthim," Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed posted on X.

WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AT CRITICS CALLING TRUMP’S MASSIVE ARCH ‘TOO BIG’

"Your taxes might be going up. But don't worry — at least $15 million of it is going toward Trump's arch project," posted California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Press Office on X. 

Meanwhile, California’s long-troubled high-speed rail project was approved in 2008 at an initial $33 billion price tag before ballooning to $126 billion in expected costs this year. The Department of Transportation canceled billions of dollars in federal grants for the project in the summer of 2025, citing it did not have a viable path forward for completion. 

"A gold inscription reading ‘One Nation Under God’? That phrase came from Cold War propaganda, not our Founders," California representative Jared Huffman wrote on X. "They built this country on freedom FROM religious tyranny. They wrote the First Amendment to keep religion out of the government."

He added, "Trump stamping it in gold on his vanity arch tells you everything about what this project is: a Christian Nationalist monument, paid for with your tax dollars."

FEDERAL JUDGE QUESTIONS TRUMP AUTHORITY ON WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT

Huffman, along with other Democrat lawmakers, filed a court brief challenging the project last month, arguing that the president cannot erect the monument on federal land without congressional approval. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Huffman's office for comment.

"Permitting that Arch to be built without appropriate congressional authorization and review could lead to the unchecked proliferation of monuments, the erosion of public space, and serious constraints on future generations’ ability to memorialize their own losses and achievements," the amicus brief reads.

TRUMP SAYS IT 'IS TOO LATE' TO STOP THE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION AMID LAWSUIT

President Trump has been on a mission to fulfill last year’s Executive Order titled, "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful."

"I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN! Before the tents, squalor, filth, and crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the world. It will soon be that again," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in August.

The released designs show a golden, winged Lady Liberty-style figure atop the arch flanked by two bald eagles crowning the monument. Underneath the sculptures across the top of the arch, "ONE NATION UNDER GOD
 is written in gold. The back of the arch has a matching emblem, saying "LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL."

The arch is proposed to sit near the Lincoln Memorial at a roundabout between Memorial Bridge and Memorial Avenue near the Arlington Cemetery Metro Stop.

"It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today," Ingle continued in his comment to Fox News Digital.  

The legal threats and fiery rhetoric aimed at the upcoming arch echos a broader wave of Democratic backlash to recent Trump-linked cultural and construction moves.

In December, Democrats erupted in outrage over the renaming of the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

Ohio representative Joyce Beatty, along with other plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit to reverse the rebranding of "The Trump-Kennedy Center" and prevent the planned two-year closure.

The $400 million White House ballroom is navigating a legal battle after the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in December claiming Trump exceeded his authority when he demolished the dated East Wing. 

An appeals court ruled on Saturday that the renovation can continue until Friday, giving the President time to seek a Supreme Court review.