Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump arch construction

A United States federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from breaking ground on a proposed 250-foot (76-meter) memorial arch in Washington, D.C., shortly after a federal planning commission approved the project.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day temporary restraining order halting construction of the proposed monument.

The National Capital Planning Commission approved the project hours earlier on Thursday with an 8-4 vote, clearing the way for construction before the court intervened.

Chutkan granted a request from plaintiffs challenging the project in lawsuits filed by the District of Columbia and Virginia. The cases were consolidated with an earlier lawsuit brought by a group of Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian.

The Trump administration claims that Congress approved the construction of a monument at the site more than 100 years ago. But that plan envisioned two large columns, signifying the northern states and the southern states in the US Civil War and not an arch.

"The sheer improbability ​that a 100-year-old statute would contain authority, unknown to every previous administration, to erect a 250-foot arch at a principal location in the nation's capital indicates how far (the government) ​must stretch to justify this project," US District ‌Judge Tanya Chutkan said, issuing Friday's order.

Mark Paoletta, the commission's Trump-appointed chairman, expressed support for the new structure during the panel's meeting.

"President Trump understands as president and a superb builder that it's important to our national identity to display who we are through grand monuments," Paoletta said.

Paoletta, who also serves as general counsel for the White House Office of Management and Budget, pointed to Trump's admiration for similar monuments around the world.

"As Trump has often remarked, the great cities around the world have arches: Paris, Rome, London," Paoletta said.

The proposed structure would be clad in granite and topped with three golden statues.

Trump has previously said the triumphal arch would be converted into a military complex capable of rapidly deploying large numbers of drones, with snipers positioned on the roof and plaza areas. He also said the complex would store "large quantities of sniper ammunition."

The project has drawn criticism from preservationists, lawmakers and veterans, who argue that it could disrupt views of the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

Opponents have also questioned whether the project requires congressional approval under federal law.

The National Capital Planning Commission previously approved the site and preliminary plans.

Sources

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