The Trump administration has signaled that construction on a proposed 250-foot “triumphal arch” near Arlington National Cemetery could begin on Nov. 5, immediately after the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is expected to give final approval, prompting Vietnam-era veterans who are suing to ask a federal judge to block any work unless Congress authorizes the project.
The Justice Department filed a notice with the court indicating that construction could start on Nov. 5, which would comply with an earlier order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that the government provide at least 14 days’ advance notice before beginning work. The veterans asked Chutkan for a preliminary injunction to prevent the administration from moving forward, saying in their filing that they should not be allowed to “render the arch a fait accompli before this Court has made a final determination whether Defendants’ project is unlawful.”
In their complaint, the veterans accuse the administration of having “barreled ahead, doing site testing, drawing architectural plans, and seeking approvals from commissions populated by friends of the administration,” and say the project has proceeded without approval from “the one body that, by law, must authorize the project: Congress.”
The administration argues that a 1925 law signed by President Calvin Coolidge providing for construction of Memorial Bridge also authorizes the arch, because the bridge’s initial plan included columns at its ends. Opponents have described that interpretation as “entirely untethered” from the text of the 1925 statute.
Under the proposal, the arch would sit in a traffic circle across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, at the foot of Arlington National Cemetery. The project faces legal challenges not only from the veterans but also from preservation groups and others concerned about its impact on the national memorial landscape.
The administration acknowledged in September that the arch would cause “adverse effects” on the setting and views along the river but said those impacts “cannot be fully avoided” because the arch’s location is “central to the undertaking,” according to documents cited in the veterans’ filing.
With the NCPC expected to complete its review on Nov. 5 and the Justice Department’s notice triggering the court-ordered 14-day window, the veterans’ request for a preliminary injunction asks Judge Chutkan to bar any construction until the court reaches a final decision on whether the project’s approvals and legal foundations are lawful.
