WASHINGTON (AP) — Legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s bill memorial arch are on the rise, with the District of Columbia and Virginia suing in federal court on Saturday, the administration says. work could begin as early as next week.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan consolidated that trial with the original one she is overseeing and ordered a common briefing schedule for the trials.
All the plaintiffs are calling for a halt to potential work on a monument that would rise 250 feet on a patch of grass off the bridge that spans the Potomac River, connecting the city to Arlington National Cemetery. This would make the arch 100 feet taller (30 meters) than the Statue of liberty extends from its base to the top of the torch.
Chutkan is already considering issuing an order to halt the project until the original lawsuit against the Trump administration by three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian is resolved. She held a hearing Friday but did not act immediately, although she said she would act quickly.
In the latest filing, two attorneys general, Brian Schwalb of Washington and Jay Jones of Virginia, assert that “once defendants begin this project, they will inflict irreparable harm on both the District and Virginia. The Arch site is at the center of a major traffic artery between the District and Virginia, in the monumental core of the capital, on an island that straddles the Potomac River. During the three years of construction, the Arch project will inevitably interfere with the traffic between jurisdictions, produce pollution and stormwater runoff into the Potomac, interfere with emergency services, and pose many other challenges.
Like the original plaintiffs, they are also seeking a temporary restraining order that would slow the administration’s plans to imminently move forward with construction.
“The Arc de Triomphe at Memorial Circle will be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but in the entire world,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in an email. “It will serve as a gateway to Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, families of the fallen and all Americans, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250-year history so that we can enjoy our freedoms today.”
The lawsuit raises concerns about the impact of traffic disruption on emergency responses in a region where joint operations are the norm, including the January 2025 mid-air collision between a military helicopter and an airliner that killed 67 people.
The administration wants to launch into construction
Speaking to reporters at a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday evening, Trump said the arch “is very important militarily to Washington, D.C. and our country. It will also be the most beautiful arch ever built.”
“It will be one of the greatest things in Washington. It’s also very important militarily. Maybe even more important, but I don’t think so,” Trump added. “But it’s very important militarily, and I think we’re doing very well.”
He said: “Whether it’s Virginia, Maryland or Washington, it doesn’t matter. It’s something the region needs militarily, and I think aesthetically as well.”
The Trump administration, in a recent court filing, said it plans to seek final approval of the project, one of Trump’s favorites, at Thursday’s meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission and possibly begin construction the same day, despite the two lawsuits then pending.
On Friday, the government submitted a 106-page plan for the arch that envisions a massive structure more than 12 stories tall that includes a huge bronze statue of Lady Liberty with wings and carrying a torch with an eternal flame. The structure would include an observation deck with views to the east and west, an “occupied roof” and two mezzanines.
Inside the ark are program rooms, offices, a staff lounge, circular staircases, several elevators, and a “fire command center.” The project proposes significant changes to traffic in the area, including rerouting traffic on nearby roads. Administration officials said the ark would also serve a national security function.
Chutkan asked what the emergency was and how the government would be harmed “beyond the executive’s desire to dazzle the city” if she issued a preliminary injunction while the trial proceeded. Administration lawyer Robert Stander said the arch was “absolutely a high-priority project” and that if Chutkan intervened, it would hamper the government’s work.
Golf course and Kennedy Center projects also ended up in court
The lawsuits are among many filed against the government as Trump seeks to remake the nation’s capital at breakneck speed, prompting pushback from judges and plaintiffs.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said Friday she would open a “formal investigation” into whether federal lawyers violated ethical boundaries, including making false statements in court, during a legal dispute over the East Potomac Golf Link project. Trump wants the public course revamped so it can host professional tournaments.
There will be a hearing Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on a motion to Representative Joyce BeattyD-Ohio, ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, requesting release of communications between center leadership and administration officials. The government has so far refused, citing executive privilege. Trump is the chairman of the board.
Beatty alleged in a separate filing Friday that the government withheld information from administrators, including an analysis from the construction manager, that would have shown a closure was unnecessary. She is challenging a government request for Cooper to dissolve an injunction he put in place to stop plans to close the performing arts venue for two years for renovations. That injunction also called for the removal of Trump’s name, which had been placed front and center in December.
___ Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.
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