DC and Virginia Sue to Block Trump’s 250-Foot Triumphal Arch Days Before Possible Nov. 5 Groundbreaking

The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a federal lawsuit on Oct. 31 to stop President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot “Triumphal Arch” at Memorial Circle, calling the project “flagrantly unlawful” in the filing, according to USA Today.

The arch is planned for Memorial Circle, where Arlington Memorial Bridge and the George Washington Memorial Parkway meet in front of the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. The Trump administration has said the arch, first announced a year ago, will commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary. USA Today described the planned structure as concrete clad in granite, with two gilded eagles and a central winged figure.

What the lawsuit argues

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb argue in the suit that the administration is bypassing legally required authorization from Congress to build a monument, and that the arch would nearly double the legally permissible height of 130 feet for buildings in the nation’s capital. The suit says the administration is attempting to “outrun judicial review” by rushing groundbreaking so it can later argue that work cannot be stopped once it has started.

“The Court should not allow this cynical gambit to succeed,” the attorneys general wrote in the suit, according to USA Today. “As soon as Defendants break ground on this project, they will inflict irreparable harm on both the District and Virginia.”

Construction could begin as soon as Nov. 5, lawyers for the administration have previously said in a court filing in a separate lawsuit, according to USA Today. The National Capital Planning Commission is expected to meet Nov. 5 to decide on approving the final site and building plans for the arch, and the Department of the Interior will also issue a final decision authorizing construction, the suit says. Construction could take two to three years of nearly around-the-clock work.

The White House response

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told USA Today that the arch will be “one of the most iconic landmarks” in Washington and around the world. Ingle said it will serve as a gateway to Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans, and as a visual reminder of sacrifices made over the country’s 250-year history. Ingle did not comment on the specific allegations in the suit. The lawsuit names the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior as defendants.

The suit also says construction will snarl traffic on a main route between Washington and Virginia, impede emergency responders, and harm the environment through stormwater runoff into the Potomac River, costs the states say they will have to address with their own money. The National Park Service said in a report in August that the arch would “diminish the integrity” of characteristics of other sites, according to USA Today, but it backed the plans and rejected proposals for a smaller arch, saying the 250-foot height would represent the country’s 250th anniversary.

Reporting based on coverage by USA Today.