On October 15, 2026, the Office of Army Cemeteries presented final design plans to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump, to reinstall the Confederate Memorial by sculptor Moses Ezekiel at Arlington National Cemetery, WTOP and NBC4 reported. The 30-foot bronze will go in Section 16, which holds the remains of 442 Confederate soldiers, and the Army expects to return it in 2027 after “comprehensive conservation and refurbishment,” WJLA reported. The project has been renamed the Moses Ezekiel Sculpture. WJLA reported the commission approved the final design; other outlets said only that plans were presented, and the commission's action letter has not been posted.
The relief includes a Black woman holding a white officer's child in a “Mammy” stereotype and an enslaved man following his owner into war, WTOP reported. An independent commission recommended removing the memorial in its final report to Congress on military assets that commemorate the Confederacy, and it was taken down in December 2023. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced its return in 2025: “It never should have been taken down by woke lemmings. Unlike the Left, we don't believe in erasing American history — we honor it.” The Army previously said restoring it would cost $10 million, NBC4 reported.