A federal judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from beginning construction on its proposed 250-foot (76-meter) memorial arch in Washington, D.C. The 14-day order came shortly after a federal planning commission approved the project in an 8-4 vote on November 5.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued the temporary restraining order as part of a legal challenge brought by Washington, D.C., and Virginia, according to The Associated Press. The order pauses any start of work for two weeks; it does not decide the project’s legality on a permanent basis.
Dispute over an older congressional authorization
The administration argues that Congress authorized a monument at the site more than a century ago. The government is relying on that authorization to support the proposed arch, but the earlier plan envisioned two large columns representing the Northern and Southern states in the Civil War.
Chutkan questioned whether the old law could authorize a 250-foot arch at a prominent location in the capital. In her order, she said the government’s interpretation would require a substantial stretch of the statute’s meaning, noting that previous administrations had not identified it as authority for such a structure.
The National Capital Planning Commission’s approval was a key step for the project, but the court order prevents construction from moving forward during the temporary pause. The central legal question is whether the century-old authorization covers the design now proposed by the Trump administration.
Nicole French