U.S. judge halts Trump’s arch hours after federal panel’s final approval

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order late Thursday prohibiting the government from carrying out any construction work at the site for 14 days. The judge granted a request filed by the governments of the District of Columbia and Virginia.

In a 33-page opinion, Chutkan examined the administration’s competing justifications for the arch, including its recent emphasis on national security, and concluded that the local governments were likely to be harmed by its construction.

“The threatened harms will materialize as soon as construction begins, in part because the traffic disruptions will occur immediately,” the judge wrote.

The ruling came less than two hours after the National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 to approve the arch.

The structure would stand in Memorial Circle, a traffic island on the bridge linking the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery. Administration officials have said work would run 20 hours a day, year-round, for two to three years.

Legal challenge

A group of Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian sued the government earlier this year, arguing that the arch cannot lawfully be built without approval from Congress, which the administration has not sought. The governments of D.C. and Virginia filed a similar lawsuit last weekend, citing the financial and logistical disruptions construction would cause. Chutkan consolidated the cases and required the government to notify the court within an hour of the commission’s approval.

Commission vote

The commission’s online meeting lasted nearly nine hours, with 131 people registered to speak. Most speakers, including veterans, Democratic lawmakers and preservation experts, opposed the project, arguing it would block an important view, disrespect service members buried at Arlington and add risk to the capital’s complex airspace. They also raised questions about its legality and cost, which the administration has not confirmed. Only a handful of speakers supported the arch, including Republican Representatives Andrew Clyde and Brian Mast, both veterans.

Commissioners appointed by Trump described the arch as a tribute to the nation and its service members. They argued that Congress authorized the project in 1925, when it approved a pair of 51-meter columns for Memorial Circle that were never built.

They also cited statements by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the monument would strengthen national security, although officials at the meeting confirmed no such analysis was included in the final submission. Interior Department official Greg Wischer said “specific national security functions have been filed under seal” in court, while the National Park Service “has not been privy to any national defense preparations.”

D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, a commission member, said the government’s answers about the arch’s purpose were contradictory. “We cannot approve final site and building plans until we have the final site and building plan,” he said. His motion to postpone the vote failed 4-8.

Opposition in Congress

Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement that while the ruling prevents the arch from going ahead immediately, the courts and Congress must adopt permanent safeguards against the project. He has introduced a bill, with 80 co-sponsors, that would prohibit and defund the arch.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation denounced the commission’s vote as a violation of federal law and the democratic process, while the National Parks Conservation Association said it would press Congress to ensure the arch is never built.

Several Democratic lawmakers have pledged to block and investigate the project after their party regains a majority in Congress in January. Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, warned at the meeting that companies and officials advancing a project not authorized by Congress could face legal risk.

Earlier, Qazinform reported on how the result of the U.S. midterm elections and particular implications they have for the world and Kazakhstan.