The District of Columbia and Virginia went to federal court Saturday to try to stop President Trump’s planned 250-foot Triumphal Arch at Memorial Circle, days before the administration says construction could begin, according to NBC News and ABC News.
The suit was filed jointly by Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, both Democrats, and asks a judge for a temporary restraining order blocking the work, ABC News reported. The arch would sit on the traffic circle at the foot of Arlington Memorial Bridge, near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.
Virginia, D.C. sue Trump administration to block proposed memorial arch https://t.co/GSGphTh54O
— Just the News (@JustTheNews) November 1, 2026
The National Capital Planning Commission is set to vote on final plans for the arch on Nov. 5, NBC News reported, and ABC News said the administration told a court that construction could start that same day if the commission grants approval.
What the lawsuit claims
“The construction of the Arch will inflict immediate and irreparable harm on the District and Virginia,” Jones and Schwalb wrote in the lawsuit, according to NBC News. They argued the monument would sit “on a busy traffic circle that abuts the border between the jurisdictions, at the center of a historic viewshed.”
According to NBC News, the two attorneys general allege the administration is violating the Commemorative Works Act by skipping specific congressional authorization and the Height of Buildings Act because the arch would exceed 130 feet. NBC News reported they also allege violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. ABC News reported the filing calls the project “legally indefensible” without congressional authorization.
The attorneys general also tried to get ahead of the administration’s likely defense. “It is entirely foreseeable that, once construction begins, Defendants will argue, as they have done in other cases, that an order halting construction would irreparably harm the federal government, pose security risks, and impermissibly alter the status quo they have unilaterally created,” they wrote, according to NBC News.
Jones called the project “President Trump’s illegal vanity project” in a statement quoted by NBC News, while Schwalb said construction “is flagrantly illegal and will cause serious, immediate, and irreparable harm to the District and its residents.”
The White House response
White House spokesperson David Ingle told NBC News the arch “is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world.” Ingle said it “will serve as a gateway to Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike,” and a reminder of “the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history.” NBC News reported Ingle did not directly address the lawsuit.
The administration has also leaned on national security. ABC News reported that sworn declarations from the secretaries of defense and homeland security were filed in a separate case brought by Vietnam-era veterans to support the argument that the project is needed for national security. In September, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the arch would be outfitted to “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers,” according to NBC News, though NBC reported the final plans submitted to the commission do not include those features.
What it would look like
According to ABC News, the Interior Department’s final plans include a golden winged statue resembling the Statue of Liberty atop the 25-story arch, holding a torch with an “eternal flame.” ABC News reported the arch would be more than twice as tall as the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial and taller than France’s Arc de Triomphe.
The fight now moves to a federal judge, with the planning commission vote set for Thursday. The arch’s supporters see a monument to American history at the gates of the nation’s most hallowed cemetery; two Democratic attorneys general see a project they say Congress never approved.
Sources
- NBC News: Virginia and D.C. sue to stop proposed Trump arch
- ABC News: DC, Virginia file suit to block construction on Trump’s proposed arch
Sources cited
Sources
- Original post: Just the News (@JustTheNews) on X, Nov 1, 2026
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