D.C. and Virginia Sue to Stop Trump’s Triumphal Arch
The two governments filed suit Saturday, days before construction could begin on the 250-foot monument at Memorial Circle. They call the project unlawful. The administration calls it an icon for the country’s 250th anniversary.
Washington, D.C., and Virginia sued the Trump administration on Saturday to stop construction of a 250-foot triumphal arch at Memorial Circle. The suit landed days before work could begin.
The arch would stand where Arlington Memorial Bridge meets the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, on a patch of grass off the bridge that spans the Potomac River. At 250 feet, it would stand about 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, measured from base to torch.
The District and Virginia filed the 46-page complaint in federal court in Washington. It names the National Park Service and the Interior Department, along with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Jessica Bowron, the Park Service comptroller exercising the authority of the director. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
What the suit argues
The two governments argue the project has not received the congressional authorization they say federal law requires for a memorial of this kind. They also argue it violates the Height of Buildings Act, which limits building heights in Washington. At 250 feet, the arch would be nearly double the 130-foot limit the suit cites.
The complaint brings eight counts, including alleged violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. It says the administration moved ahead without the required environmental and historic preservation reviews.
Traffic is a central part of the argument. The suit says more than 27,000 vehicles, 1,100 bicyclists and 1,200 pedestrians pass through Memorial Circle each day. The project would close the south side of the circle and reduce westbound traffic from Memorial Bridge to two lanes, the complaint says. The Park Service has said construction would take about two to three years and run about 20 hours a day.
The suit warns of harm to emergency response as well. It notes that joint operations between the District and Virginia are routine in the area, and it cites the January 2025 midair collision between a military helicopter and an airliner that killed 67 people.
The attorneys general, Brian Schwalb of Washington and Jay Jones of Virginia, wrote that the administration is trying to outrun judicial review by rushing to break ground. They asked the court for a temporary restraining order, and for orders declaring the project approvals unlawful and barring construction.
Why the timing matters
The administration has said construction could begin as soon as Thursday, November 5. That is the day the National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to meet to consider final approval of the site and building plans. The Interior Department would also issue a final decision authorizing construction, according to the suit.
On Friday, the government submitted a 106-page plan for the arch. It describes a structure more than 12 stories high, with a winged bronze statue of Lady Liberty carrying a torch with an eternal flame, an observation deck, two mezzanines, rooms for program space and offices, and a fire command center. The plan also proposes rerouting traffic on nearby roads. Administration officials have said the arch will also have a national security function.
Judge Chutkan is already considering a request to pause the project in an earlier case. Three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian sued in February, arguing in part that the project needs congressional approval and could obstruct the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Chutkan held a hearing on that request on Friday and did not immediately rule, but said she would move expeditiously. She has now consolidated the new lawsuit with that earlier challenge and ordered a joint briefing.
Arlington County filed a separate lawsuit on October 8, arguing that a full environmental impact statement should have been prepared instead of a less extensive environmental assessment. That makes three lawsuits seeking to halt the arch. None has yet produced a final ruling on whether the project is lawful.
What the administration says
The Park Service has said the arch would honor the nation’s 250th anniversary. White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Associated Press the arch “is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world.” He called the Arlington County suit meritless in earlier comments on that case.
The Park Service and the Interior Department had not filed a response to the new complaint on the public docket as of Saturday night, according to reports of the filing. The next decision point is Thursday’s planning commission meeting, unless a court acts first.
