Federal judge preemptively blocks ‘Arc de Trump’

The National Capital Planning Commission had voted to approve construction on the monument, but a judge quickly ruled the project requires congressional approval.WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge late Thursday night blocked the Trump administration from beginning construction on a proposed 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery.U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee, granted a temporary restraining order requested by a group of veterans, the District of Columbia and Virginia just hours after Trump allies on the National Capital Planning Commission approved the project.The arch — the latest of President Donald Trump’s effort to stamp a physical mark on the nation’s capital — has come under significant criticism, including concerns the height would further complicate the nation’s busiest airspace around Ronald Reagan National Airport and sever the sight lines between the Lincoln Memorial and the cemetery.In her 33-page opinion, Chutkan determined no construction could move forward without congressional approval and noted the District and Virginia would face significant economic harms from disruption of traffic at the cemetery, one of the area’s biggest tourist attractions.Chutkan found the proposal directly violated the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, which was meant to ensure memorials on federal land are appropriately designed, constructed and located, and that they “reflect a consensus of the lasting national significance of the subjects involved.”“Defendants complied with none of these procedures,” Chutkan wrote. “Congress has not enacted any statute authorizing construction of the arch, as it has for other commemorative works in the District. Nor did defendants ever solicit input from the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission. And there has been no congressionally appointed sponsor stewarding the construction.”The commission, largely dominated by Trump allies, voted 8-4 to give final approval to the arch following a marathon hearing Thursday. Approximately 130 people signed up to testify against the project.Joseph Zengerle, a Vietnam veteran and West Point graduate, slammed the arch as a clear vanity project.“The arch’s brutal and insensitive size detracts from the modest reflection of love, remembrance and selflessness the existing memorials encourage," Zengerle said. “And the arch would forever bring to mind the evident rationale for its construction: President Trump’s exercise of his desire to memorialize himself.”Mark Paoletta, chairman of the planning commission, defended the project and said the panel would move toward construction.“President Trump’s historic vision for a monumental arch at Memorial Circle would complete a project over a century in the making, and honor our nation and her veterans, and provide the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery with the monumental gateway it deserves,” Paolleta said. “It would also represent a generational security opportunity to protect our nation’s capital.”The Justice Department revived its staple argument that the arch is necessary for “national security,” suggesting the top could be used as a sniper perch and a drone port.The Trump administration has repeatedly raised national security as a defense of the president’s construction projects as a method to force federal judges to defer to the government’s discretion. Courts are limited in their review of military and national security decisions.Trump successfully used the argument to get the Supreme Court to approve continued work on his White House ballroom.A group of Vietnam War veterans initially challenged the arch proposal on Feb. 19, arguing that monument would clash with the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery’s message of unity after the Civil War.The District and Virginia filed a separate lawsuit on Oct. 31 to block any sudden construction, which Chutkan consolidated with the veterans’ lawsuit.Trump announced the plan in October 2025 and tapped Nicolas Leo Charbonneau of architecture firm Harrison Design to lead the project along with Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. In December, Trump said the arch would be like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and that construction was expected to begin within two months.Residents and visitors to Washington saw a glimpse of Trump’s proposed arch at the Freedom 250 “Great American Fair” on the National Mall this summer, albeit on a much smaller scale and amid lax attendance and brutal summer heat.A potential start date was repeatedly delayed — initial plans highlighted July 4th as the initial goal — until the Trump administration informed the court it would begin work as soon as Thursday.Early Thursday morning, Grundy Construction Company began painting outlines of the arch at Memorial Circle, purportedly without the government’s permission.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads