Trump's plans for massive arch move ahead

Fonte da imagem: Getty Images, por Grace Eliza Goodwin. Os planos do presidente dos EUA, Donald Trump, para construir um enorme arco parecem estar avançando, depois que um conselho consultivo federal encerrou as negociações sobre como lidar com os possíveis efeitos da estrutura de 250 pés nos sítios históricos próximos.

• What we know about White House plans for an 'Arc de Trump'Published21 May.

The council, led by Trump appointees, announced on Thursday it was ending required consultations on the project, saying historic preservation officers from Washington and Virginia had refused to sign off on harm-mitigation plans.

A construção já deveria ter começado este mês, mas a oposição tem crescido.

On Friday, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth blasted plans to use the arch for defence as "foolhardy" and called it "yet another Trump vanity project.

Legenda da figura, Um olhar sobre os planos de design do arco triunfal de Trump conforme proposto em abril.

Earlier this week Trump announced that the proposed "Triumphal Arch" would double as a complex to store military equipment, complete with the ability to deploy snipers and drones from the roof and plaza.

In a letter to the Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Duckworth said they "must reject this foolhardy plan and instead focus on increasing the safety of the airspace.

O arco será construído logo fora do Cemitério Nacional de Arlington, na Virgínia, e a cerca de 4mi (6km) do Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, local do fatal acidente aéreo de 2025 entre um helicóptero militar e um avião comercial.

The American people cannot afford to stand witness to Trump's risky plan to place a 250-foot (72m) structure along a busy approach path, especially if he follows through on plans to station snipers on the arch and fly drones," Duckworth wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

The FAA, however, ruled last week that the massive structure would not pose a risk to flights coming into and out of the airport.

On Thursday, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, led by Trump appointees, announced it was ending required consultations with local officials about how the structure might affect 42 historic properties in the area.

O conselho disse no comunicado que o National Park Service, que supervisiona monumentos federais, havia proposto um plano para mitigar possíveis danos a esses bens, mas os oficiais locais de preservação histórica 'expressaram preocupações quanto ao propósito e à necessidade do Triumphal Arch.

They also questioned whether the service had adequately identified possible harms and planned sufficient actions to address them.

Federal and state officials are not required to reach an agreement on a project's harm-mitigation plans, and those consultations are allowed to be terminated if both sides can't agree.

O conselho espera apresentar um relatório final sobre o processo no início do próximo mês.

Meanwhile, Democratic Virginia Congressman Don Beyer says excavation work on the site where the arch will stand has already begun.

Beyer, who is leading congressional opposition to the arch, said he found workers operating heavy equipment when he visited the site on Thursday who told him they were "conducting archaeological work to evaluate the composition of the soil.

That is "deeply troubling", Beyer said, particularly because the administration is required to give 48 hours notice before work can begin.

A Administração parece estar avançando com atividades no local mesmo enquanto ainda não realizou o trabalho básico necessário para entender as consequências deste projeto," escreveu Beyer.

A rendering of the design from earlier this year includes a golden, winged Lady Liberty on the top of the arch, flanked by two gold eagles, and with the phrases "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice for All" inscribed in gold on either side of the structure.

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