Judge Tightens Limits on Work at Trump’s Planned Arch

A federal judge on Friday tightened restrictions on work at the site of President Donald Trump’s planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, requiring the administration to give the court 48 hours’ notice before undertaking nearly any activity at the site.

In a Sept. 4 order imposing the new restriction, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan exempted only on-site information-gathering intended to identify archaeological resources beneath the fill materials covering Columbia Island, as required under federal preservation laws. 

The order adds a new layer of court oversight to an April 8 consent order that applies specifically to construction. That earlier order bars the National Park Service (NPS) from greenlighting construction before publicly posting notice of its authorization and requires at least 14 days’ notice before construction begins.

“Defendants are reminded that any construction or demolition in preparation for construction before the National Park Service issues final agency action authorizing construction or without 14 days’ notice would be a violation of this Order and the previous 26 Consent Order,” Chutkan wrote in the latest order.

The Sept. 4 order followed Chutkan’s consideration of an emergency motion filed by project opponents earlier that day. The opponents were asking the court to halt construction after learning that construction might start in the next two weeks.

The plaintiffs claimed starting work at the site near Arlington Cemetery would violate a previous agreement for the project that included getting congressional approval or statutory compliance.

Plaintiffs in the prior court order had argued that the Circle on Columbia Island (between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery) requires new congressional authorization, while the administration argued a 1925 statute authorizing columns at the same site already provides that authority.

The motion for a temporary restraining order was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia a day after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the administration was starting excavation work on the project in the next two weeks.

The opponents filed a lawsuit in February to halt construction of the arch until Congress approves the plans. On April 8, the plaintiffs agreed to dismiss their case in exchange for assurances by the Trump administration that the National Park Service (NPS) wouldn’t begin work before the NPS published a notice on its website and would give at least 14 days’ notice.

Burgum announced on social media Sept. 3 that the administration was “preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the ‘Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck.’”

The plaintiffs alleged in Friday’s court filing that the work described is unconstitutional and violated the prior court order.

“The imminent course of action that Secretary Burgum has announced to the American people is unlawful many times over,” the motion states.

The Justice Department said Friday work on the project would not include construction or excavation.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson filed a notice with the court in an attempt to clarify what work was planned at the site. According to the filing, the activity will consist of archaeological survey work needed to help the NPS with compliance paperwork for the project.

This work is expected to start no earlier than Sept. 21, and the land is expected to be restored by Oct. 31, according to the notice.

“This activity will be carried out to satisfy [the park service’s] compliance obligations and to inform NPS and the public about the history of Columbia Island,” the notice stated.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Michael Lemmon and Shaun Byrnes—both former U.S. diplomats in eastern Europe appointed by President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s. They are joined by Jon Gundersen, a former diplomat appointed by President H.W. Bush to Ukraine, Iceland, Estonia, and Norway in the early 1990s.

Calder Loth, a retired architectural historian, has also joined the lawsuit filed by Public Citizen Litigation Group, the legal arm of the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, a liberal Washington think tank that “resists corporate power” and fights against the government, according to its website. The organization receives funding from major environmental foundations, such as the Sequoia Climate Foundation and ClimateWorks Foundation.

The arch is designed to be built at the Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, according to designs.

“This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World,” Burgum wrote in a Sept. 3 post on X.

For over 125 years, Congress and congressional commissions have planned to build a monumental installation on Columbia Island, according to the secretary. Despite the intent, the site remains a barren traffic circle without a monument, Burgum said.

“In fact, the passage extending from Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery was meant to serve as an Avenue of Heroes,” Bergum said.

The proposed monument would include a mezzanine level at 166 feet, a 24-foot-high observation deck, and a 60-foot statue of Lady Liberty at the top.

The structure, which is intended to mark America’s 250th anniversary, would prominently display the inscriptions “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All.”

It was inspired by the 164-foot-high Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Although the arch proposal has been approved by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government’s planning agency for the D.C. region, has to give final approval for the project.

When it will do so is to be determined.

The commission met on Sept. 3, but the arch was not on the agenda.

Tom Ozimek, Kimberly Hayek, and Jackson Richman contributed to this report.