Veterans and preservation groups are making a final effort to prevent the construction of Trump’s planned triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., whose construction the administration has signaled will begin early next month.
These groups, which initially sued over the effort, asked a federal judge in a new court filing to block the construction because they believe the project requires congressional authorization.
Attorney Wendy Liu wrote in the filing that the plans are “unlawful” and “the threatened harm is imminent.”
She added, “This Court should enter a preliminary injunction blocking Defendants from beginning construction on Memorial Circle in the hope that they can render the arch a fait accompli before this Court has made a final determination whether Defendants’ project is unlawful.”
The groups cite the Commemorative Works Act, which requires that any commemorative work on NPS land in Washington, DC, must be “specifically authorized by law.” They also cite a federal law that says “a building or structure shall not be erected on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress.”
The Trump administration has argued it has all the approval it needs to start construction. Officials have conducted an environmental assessment, received Commission of Fine Arts approval, and are expected to receive National Capital Planning Commission approval on Nov. 5, as required. The administration has also pointed to a 1925 act in which Congress authorized an “Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission” to design and construct Arlington Memorial Bridge.
The groups are asking the judge to make a decision by Nov. 4, the day before the final vote on the arch, and the day before the administration says construction may begin.