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Plaintiffs Seek Injunction to Stop Arch10/23 06:18
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to stop the Trump
administration from building a triumphal arch along the Potomac River asked a
federal judge on Thursday to halt all construction plans, one day after the
National Park Service signaled it would begin work Nov. 5.
The plaintiffs -- three veterans and a retired architectural historian --
asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to prohibit the administration and the
National Park Service "from taking any steps to construct, or to direct or
facilitate construction of, any structure in Memorial Circle, absent
congressional authorization, during the pendency of this litigation."
The NPS and the executive office of the president filed a notice Wednesday
in the lawsuit saying they planned to possibly begin construction as early as
Nov. 5, pending the approval of the construction by the National Capital
Planning Commission. The commission is scheduled to meet that day to consider
final approval of the site and building plans.
The government's notice said construction could begin once that approval was
finished, the Interior Department issued a final decision authorizing
construction and the proper notification was published. "NPS may publish such
notice as early as November 5, 2026, and construction could commence as early
as November 5, 2026," the notice said.
The arch has been one of Trump's pet projects, one that he said might also
include national security functions such as drones and snipers. Plans submitted
to the NCPC by the Interior Department don't include mention of the "military
complex" he has said it would host, although the agency said the plan could
accommodate such a feature. The structure is planned to be 250 feet tall (76
meters).
The plaintiffs' filing Thursday said notification "makes clear that the
defendants have no intention of awaiting this court's decision on the
cross-motions for summary judgment and have every intention of imminently
beginning construction of the arch on Memorial Circle."
Though the arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine
Arts, whose members were all tapped by President Donald Trump, the plaintiffs
sued in federal court in Washington, D.C., saying the project needs to be
approved by Congress.
The Public Citizen Litigation Group, which is one of the legal groups
representing the plaintiffs, cited several projects being pursued by the
administration that had moved forward with work despite pending lawsuits.
Chutkan ordered the two sides to meet and file a briefing schedule by noon
Friday.
The arch is one of several projects around Washington that President Donald
Trump has undertaken as he remakes the city, from renovating one of its storied
public golf courses to threatening to demolish the John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts. Just this week, plaintiffs in the East Potomac Park golf
course case argued in a five-hour hearing that the Trump had made clear that
construction plans were forthcoming, despite the pending litigation.
The lawsuit in federal court in Washington is one of two challenging
construction of the arch. The Arlington County Board in Virginia filed a
lawsuit earlier this month opposing the construction of the Triumphal Arch,
becoming the first governmental body to take legal action against the planned
monument.
That lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, criticized the
speed at which the project slated for Memorial Circle has moved without going
through the full review process.
The administration disputed that claim.
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