D.C. and Virginia Sue to Stop Trump’s 250-Foot Arch as Construction Could Start Next Week

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (TodayViralUSA) — The District of Columbia and Virginia went to federal court Saturday to stop President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, opening a third legal front against the project days before the administration says crews could break ground.

The suit, filed by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, calls the monument “flagrantly unlawful” and asks U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to block construction. According to the complaint, federal officials have said work could begin as soon as Nov. 5 at Memorial Circle, the busy traffic circle at the Virginia end of Arlington Memorial Bridge.

Why the two governments say they have standing

Unlike earlier challenges to Trump building projects, the two jurisdictions argue they will suffer direct, concrete harm. They say the roughly three-year construction period would snarl a major commuter artery between the capital and Northern Virginia, interfere with emergency services, and send pollution and stormwater runoff into the Potomac River, which the District is legally responsible for protecting.

“The construction of the Arch will inflict immediate and irreparable harm on the District and Virginia,” Jones and Schwalb wrote.

The legal claims

The attorneys general argue the administration is skipping the specific approval from Congress that the Commemorative Works Act requires for new monuments on federal land in the capital. They also say the arch, at 250 feet, would nearly double the 130-foot limit set by the Height of Buildings Act, and they allege violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

At its planned height, the arch would stand about 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty measured from its base to the tip of the torch. Trump has said the monument would mark the nation’s 250th birthday.

Judge weighing a halt

Chutkan was already considering whether to pause the project in the first lawsuit, brought by three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian. She heard arguments Friday and said she would move quickly but did not rule from the bench. After the new complaint was filed, she consolidated it with the original case and set a joint briefing schedule for the challenges.

A ruling on whether construction can start is expected before the administration’s target date next week.