Nine members of the Kennedy family have asked a federal judge to block President Donald Trump’s plan to build a colossal 250-foot triumphal arch at Arlington National Cemetery, arguing that the towering structure would cast a shadow over their relatives’ gravesites.
The family filed a motion on 10 November asking to intervene in two lawsuits seeking to stop the project, which would stand at Memorial Circle, between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The nine are Rory Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, Christopher G. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, Joseph P. Kennedy III, Edward M. Kennedy Jr and Courtney Kennedy.
The family argued that the arch, about 76 metres tall and as high as a 25-storey office building, would obstruct sight-lines to the family gravesite and “fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites”, including the memorial containing former President John F. Kennedy’s Eternal Flame. They also said it would permanently cast a shadow over the graves of servicemen and women in the cemetery.
The proposed monument would feature an elaborate classical design incorporating granite and gold ornamentation, including a 60-foot winged female figure holding a flame and golden eagles. Trump has said the arch would also serve as a military facility capable of storing and deploying drones and positioning snipers, citing a request from the United States military for national security purposes.
The move follows a temporary restraining order issued on 5 November by United States District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who barred construction and site preparation at Memorial Circle for 14 days. The decision came just hours after the National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 to approve the project following a lengthy hearing that drew widespread opposition.
In a 33-page opinion, Chutkan found that the District of Columbia and Virginia were likely to succeed on their claim that the project breaches the Commemorative Works Act, which requires express congressional authorisation for commemorative works on National Park Service land in the capital, consultation with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and a congressionally appointed sponsor. The government argued that a 1925 law authorising the Arlington Memorial Bridge still covered unfinished work at the circle.
The lawsuits were filed by the District of Columbia and Virginia on 31 October, and by a group of Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian, with the Board of Arlington County, Virginia, filing a separate suit. The Kennedy family’s intervention adds a highly personal dimension to a dispute already involving preservationists, veterans and local governments.
The nine relatives include seven of Robert F. Kennedy’s living children and a grandchild, as well as the son of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the youngest brother of the assassinated president. Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who serves as Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, has not joined the legal action.
The White House has rejected the criticism, maintaining that the structure is intended to honour American military service. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called the Kennedy family’s move “unfortunate”, and the administration has said the arch should not become the subject of partisan opposition.
Judge Chutkan ordered the defendants to say by 17:00 on 11 November whether they oppose the family’s intervention, and the proposed intervenors to say whether they will seek preliminary relief. The court has not issued a final ruling on the project’s legality, and the family’s request to join the litigation remains a procedural step rather than a completed victory — but with the construction paused until 19 November, the arch’s future is now firmly in the hands of the courts.
