A federal judge has warned the Trump administration not to begin construction on President Trump's planned triumphal arch without providing formal notice to the court. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had announced the administration would break ground on the project despite an ongoing lawsuit and a previous court order requiring advance notification.
Three Vietnam veterans and an art historian filed a lawsuit against the project, asking a judge to block its construction. On Friday evening, Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order requiring the government to "provide the court with 48 hours’ notice before engaging in any activity on Memorial Circle other than on-site information gathering." Chutkan cautioned that any construction or demolition without this formal notice would violate her orders.
The plaintiffs argued that the planned construction is unlawful for multiple reasons. They contend the arch would disrupt views between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. Additionally, they cited federal laws that they argue prohibit construction on federal land in Washington, D.C., without specific federal approval, and a law that requires congressional authorization for construction in the specific area where the arch is planned.
The administration has drawn some legal encouragement from a recent Supreme Court decision that dismissed a case involving the construction of Trump's ballroom. In that instance, the Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue. The Justice Department has argued that the Vietnam veterans' case against the arch should be dismissed on similar grounds.
However, Judge Chutkan had previously ordered in April that the administration could not begin construction without providing two weeks' notice on its website and to the court, which has not been done. She stated during a hearing that month, "What I do not want is for ground to be broken while this case is pending."
A key distinction cited by the plaintiffs is that their lawsuit regarding the arch was filed before construction began, unlike the lawsuit over the demolition of the White House East Wing, which followed the action. The plaintiffs urged the court not to allow the government to proceed with what they called an "unlawful course of conduct" in the hope of making the arch a reality before a final legal determination can be made.
Secretary Burgum and the Justice Department have asserted that Congress authorized the arch in the early 1900s. They argue this predates and overrides more recent, restrictive statutes. However, legal observers note that Congress is unlikely to approve funding for such a project, especially as Senate Republicans have previously rejected funding for the White House ballroom.