President Donald Trump has shared images showing the ongoing restoration of the Arts of War and the Arts of Peace statues in Washington, D.C., part of a series of ambitious construction projects in the capital that the president has ordered since returning to office in January 2025.
Trump shared four images of one of the recently regilded statues surrounded by scaffolding and construction workers. “Taking down the scaffolding around the regilded Arts of War sculptures!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The president’s other major construction projects include remodeling parts of the White House, a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch along the Potomac River, the renovation of one of D.C.’s historic public golf courses and ongoing plans for a statue garden to honor figures from American history.
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In April, the National Park Service awarded a $5.1 million contract to the Maryland-based Gilders’ Studio to restore the Arts of War and the Arts of Peace, according to federal records. Work began that month on the four bronze horse statues and is set to continue until September.
Leo Friedlander, an American sculptor, created the Arts of War. The art deco group consists of two statues, Valor and Sacrifice, which frame the entrance to Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Meanwhile, another American sculptor, James Earle Fraser, sculpted the Arts of Peace, featuring the neoclassical statues Music and Harvest and Aspiration and Literature, which frame the entrance to the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway.
How Trump Is Overhauling Washington
In his planned overhaul of Washington, D.C., Trump has outlined a series of major projects that include extensive renovations to the White House, new monuments and changes to public spaces across the capital.
The largest and most prominent project is the construction of a new White House ballroom, which would be built within the White House complex and replace the existing East Wing area. The proposed ballroom would span about 90,000 square feet and is designed to accommodate about 650 people for seated events, compared with the East Room’s capacity of about 200. The project is estimated to cost $400 million, up from the $200 million price tag the White House cited when the plan was first announced.
Trump has said the ballroom will allow the White House to host larger state dinners, diplomatic events and official gatherings without relying on temporary structures.
The president has also proposed the construction of a large arch near the Arlington Memorial Bridge and Memorial Circle, close to the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The planned structure would stand about 250 feet tall and is intended to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Another proposed project, the National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park, is intended to feature some 250 life-size statues of historical American figures. Trump first issued an executive order to create the garden days before the end of his first term.
“This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World’s most beautiful public spaces,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in May.
The president’s renovation plans also include transforming East Potomac Golf Links, a public golf course located on the Potomac River.
Opposition to Trump’s Renovations
Trump’s construction projects have faced opposition from lawmakers, historic preservation groups and local organizations concerned about the impact on the capital’s landmarks, public spaces and historic landscape.
Groups such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the D.C. Preservation League have challenged the president’s ballroom plan, citing concerns about the impact on the historic White House complex and the review process. Questions have also been raised about the project’s costs and funding sources and whether the president has the authority to commission such renovations without congressional approval.
Democrats have fiercely opposed the renovations. More than 150 Democratic lawmakers filed a legal brief in May as part of ongoing legal action against the White House’s ballroom project.
“The President cannot undertake any construction at the White House—much less demolish one of its wings—without clear authorization from Congress, as well as an appropriation of funds to do so,” lawyers for the Democrats wrote.
Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut has also raised concerns over transparency and the decision-making behind the proposals.
“Regular reports have revealed significant problems in the renovation or construction of monuments and spaces across the Washington, D.C., area,” Blumenthal wrote in a June letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and acting National Park Service director Jessica Bowron.
“These drastic changes appear to be subject to the President’s latest whims: for example, just last week President Trump announced without warning that he is also considering adding a promenade connecting the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial. While it is important that we maintain our national landmarks as they age, the scale, cost, and permanence of these projects has revealed troubling patterns of waste, fraud, and abuse across these episodes.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Shakeema Edwards.