A federal judge blocked President Trump from starting construction on his vision of a triumphal arch at the gateway to Washington, in a ruling issued just minutes after the project had gotten final approval Thursday night from the National Capital Planning Commission.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee and frequent legal wrangler with Mr. Trump, said administration cut too many procedural steps in rushing the arch’s approval, likely violating the Commemorative Works Act.
“The temporary restraining order entered today bars defendants from beginning construction or site preparation at Memorial Circle,” she wrote in a 33-page opinion.
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The restraining order had been sought by Virginia and the District of Columbia, which filed a lawsuit challenging the project. Another lawsuit by a group of veterans has also been filed.
The 250-foot high arch would stand at the foot of Memorial Bridge, which connects the monumental core of Washington to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Memorial Circle is owned by the National Park Service. It is technically still inside the District of Columbia, even though it is on the other side of the Potomac River from the rest of the city.
The National Capital Planning Commission gave the arch its approval Thursday, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the project in an approval letter, saying it was a fitting addition to the region.
“Situated within the historic ceremonial corridor linking the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Memorial Bridge, and Arlington National Cemetery, the arch is intended to provide visitors with an additional perspective from which to appreciate the nation’s history, its monumental landscape, and the ideals that continue to guide its future,” the secretary wrote.
Mr. Burgum also defended the height, saying that a smaller arch would actually do more to impair the views of the cemetery on one side of the Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial, at the other side.
The big arch will have a large enough central opening to “retain views through the structure,” the secretary said.
He also said the location in Memorial Circle is crucial to the design, saying the point of the arch is to showcase the important role of the nation’s military in “achieving and sustaining the freedoms and liberty we enjoy today.”
Late in the process, the Trump administration also said the arch would fill a crucial national security purpose, in addition to its monumental significance.
Judge Chutkan, though, gave that argument little weight, saying the government never backed up that claim.
She also said a “brief delay” in starting the project, expected to take up to three years to complete, wouldn’t detract from that security purpose anyway.
The arch is one of a number of projects Mr. Trump is overseeing on public lands as he tries to leave his physical mark on the capital city.
Earlier this week he showcased work on his ballroom project at the White House, and he has vowed to plow ahead with a redesign of the golf course at East Potomac Park on the National Mall.
Both of those other projects have sparked major legal confrontations.
The Supreme Court has allowed construction of the ballroom while lower courts ponder the legal issues involved in that project. The golf course is not yet at that stage of litigation.
Mr. Burgum, in his decision Thursday, said he’d considered objections such as worries that the arch could detract from the solemnity of the cemetery.
He said they evaluated views from a number of locations within the cemetery and found that while the arch may be visible from some locations, it couldn’t be seen from the hallowed ground of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Mr. Burgum also said they plan to use noise-reduction techniques to prevent the construction from disturbing operations at the cemetery.
“The department anticipates that the undertaking will maintain Arlington National Cemetery’s ability to convey its status and significance as a solemn resting place for those who have served our nation,” Mr. Burgum said.
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