The proposed Eisenhower Memorial, as designed by Frank Gehry.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has asked the Eisenhower Memorial Commission to see three large models of the Frank Gehry-designed memorial to President Dwight Eisenhower later this month, likely delaying any formal approval from the Commission of Fine Arts and National Capital Planning Commission—possibly until the fall.

In email sent yesterday afternoon, Carl Reddel, the commission’s executive director, told the 11 commissioners that Salazar’s request “means that we would not present to either CFA on June 21 or to NCPC on July 12.” Without either of those presentations, the memorial will remain without the approval necessary to move forward. Neither the NCPC nor the CFA meet in August, meaning that any presentations to the two bodies would be pushed back until September.

In a statement on behalf of the commission, Senators Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said that they looked forward to working with the Department of the Interior on the memorial’s design.

“As a bipartisan body created by Congress and the President twelve years ago, the Commission’s goal has been to create a memorial that appropriately memorializes President Eisenhower using a diligent and thoughtful process. We appreciate that Frank Gehry has been extremely open to listening to the concerns of all stakeholders in the evolution of his handsome design. We want to make sure that any outstanding questions are answered as the process moves forward. We look forward to working with the Department of Interior to accomplish this while avoiding additional costs and excessive delays that would deny our nation’s dwindling population of World War II veterans the opportunity to experience the memorial in their lifetimes.”

The fight over Gehry’s design has reached a fevered pitch in recent months. Last week Susan Eisenhower, the granddaughter of the 34th president, asked that the planning process be delayed until the family and the commission can come to an agreement on the design. Eisenhower said the despite changes made by Gehry to the design, the continued inclusion of 80-foot-tall metal tapestries to frame the memorial left her little choice but to oppose it. She has been joined by members of Congress, including Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the latter of whom is a member of the NCPC.

This is the second such fight over a D.C.-based memorial that Salazar has waded into this year. In January, Salazar ordered the National Park Service to fix a controversial paraphrased quote on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, much to the chagrin of the president of the foundation that oversaw the memorial’s construction.

The Eisenhower Memorial is expected to be completed by Memorial Day 2015 and cost $112 million to build. The commission has said that starting the design process over could tack on an additional $16 million to the final price tag.

UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.: Adam Fetcher, Salazar’s press secretary, sent along the following statement: “The Secretary believes it is important to build a national memorial that appropriately honors the legacy of President Eisenhower and reflects the shared vision of his family, the Commission, and the American people. As the Secretary said last week, it is important to move forward as quickly as possible, but our priority must be to get it right. We will continue to work with the Eisenhower family and the Commission toward a plan that everyone can all be proud of and that will stand the test of time.”