WASHINGTON.- The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a federal lawsuit on Saturday, October 31, to stop President Donald Trump's planned 250-foot Triumphal Arch, calling the project "flagrantly unlawful" and arguing that the administration is rushing to build it without the legally required approvals.
The arch is planned for Memorial Circle, where Arlington Memorial Bridge and the George Washington Memorial Parkway meet, in front of the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. The concrete structure, to be clad in granite with two gilded eagles and a central winged figure, would commemorate the country's 250th anniversary, according to the administration, which first announced the project a year ago.
Nearly double the legal height limit
The attorneys general of Washington, DC, and Virginia, Brian Schwalb and Jay Jones, argue that the administration is bypassing the authorization Congress is legally required to give for a monument, and that the arch would nearly double the legally permissible height of 130 feet for buildings in the nation's capital.
The 46-page, eight-count suit also argues that the project "would transform the District's physical landscape and upend its historic plan," and that the Park Service rushed or skipped required historic and environmental reviews. Virginia's attorney general called the arch "an affront to this hallowed ground and the extraordinary sacrifices it represents."
The suit names the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior as defendants. Construction could begin as soon as November 5, lawyers for the administration have previously said in a court filing in a separate lawsuit, and could take two to three years of nearly around-the-clock work. The National Capital Planning Commission is expected to meet on November 5 to decide on the final site and building plans.
The White House defense, and two earlier lawsuits
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told reporters on Saturday that the arch "is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, DC, but throughout the world." The administration has defended its authority to build without fresh congressional approval by citing a plan Congress authorized in 1924 at the same location. The suit counters that the administration is attempting to "outrun judicial review."
This is the third legal challenge to the arch. Arlington County sued on October 8, arguing that the Park Service's environmental review was "cursory and conclusory" and that construction would clog routes needed for emergency services at Arlington National Cemetery. A group of Vietnam veterans sued in February, arguing the monument would disrupt the view of the cemetery.
Sources: USA TODAY, October 31, 2026; City Cast DC, October 31, 2026.