Years ago, when New York’s Governor Nelson Rockefeller commissions new government buildings in Albany, the state Capitol, critics remarked that he had an “edifice complex.”

If ever there was a President with an “edifice complex,” it’s Donald J. Trump. He is determined to make changes to Washington, D.C., that will be his legacy forever.

First, he announced that he intended to build a massive ballroom for Presidential events and promised that it would not disturb the existing building. That ballroom would be almost double the size of the White House. Due to the immensity of the ballroom, Trump’s current architect proposes to add a new floor to the West Wing for the sake of symmetry.

Then, he tore down the East Wing of the White House without bothering to obtain the legally required architectural reviews. Before anyone could object, the East Wing was demolished, gone. After it didn’t exist, he solved the problem of getting approval from two federal commissions by firing their members and replacing them with loyalists.

Now, he wants a massive triumphal arch to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary. One version of his plan shows an arch gilded in gold. The land is on the Virginia side of the Potomac River and is controlled by the National Parks Service, whose leaders are selected by Trump. .

The Washington Post reported:

The White House stands about 70 feet tall. The Lincoln Memorial, roughly 100 feet. The triumphal arch President Donald Trump wants to build would eclipse both if he gets his wish.

Trump has grown attached to the idea of a 250-foot-tall structure overlooking the Potomac River, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his comments, a scale that has alarmed some architectural experts who initially supported the idea of an arch but expected a far smaller one.

The planned Independence Arch is intended to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. Built to Trump’s specifications, it would transform a small plot of land between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery into a dominant new monument, reshaping the relationship between the two memorials and obstructing pedestrians’ views.

The Trump Arch would be taller than the White House, taller than the Lincoln Memorial, taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (which is only 164′ tall).

The gold in the Oval Office may be stripped away, but the changes to the White House and the landscape of our Capitol may last forever, a reminder of an egotist who knew no bounds.