Virginia and D.C. Sue to Block Trump's Proposed Triumphal Arch
Virginia and the District of Columbia have sued in federal court to stop construction of President Trump's planned 250-foot arch near the Lincoln Memorial.
At a glance
- Virginia and D.C. sued Saturday in federal court to block Trump's proposed 250-foot triumphal arch.
- The attorneys general call the project flagrantly unlawful and say it would cause irreparable harm and traffic snarls.
- A federal judge ordered both sides to agree on a briefing schedule for a temporary restraining order by Saturday evening.
The commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Saturday to block construction of President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch. The 45-page complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the project "flagrantly unlawful" in the filing. The lawsuit is the latest legal attempt to stop construction of the 250-foot arch, whose plans were unveiled by the Trump administration in October 2025.
The arch would be located between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial and would stand twice the height of the monument honoring America's 16th president. The attorneys general allege construction could begin as soon as next week.
They argue the project would "inflict irreparable harm" on the District and Virginia, including snarling traffic between both areas. Both jurisdictions would need to take immediate and costly steps to assess, respond to, and mitigate the harmful effects, they wrote. The costs are severe and unrecoverable, they added, because defendants refused to take them into account or adequately consult with either jurisdiction during what they described as a hurried and preordained approval process.
NPR reached out to the White House and the Interior Department for comment on Saturday but has not received a response.
Trump has previously defended the arch, saying it would be a "military complex" to hold weapons and snipers. The most recent plans for the arch, which will be reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission, do not include military elements.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkin ordered both sides to talk and to agree on a proposed briefing schedule on the motion for a temporary restraining order by Saturday evening.
Source: NPR News.
Questions and answers
- Who filed the lawsuit against the Trump arch?
- Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed the lawsuit on behalf of their jurisdictions.
- Where would the arch be built?
- The arch would be located between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
- Does the arch include military elements?
- Trump previously called it a military complex for weapons and snipers, but the most recent plans under review do not include military elements.
