A group of Vietnam veterans and the Department of Justice were set to clash in a D.C. courtroom on Friday over President Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch.
The emergency hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee to the court in the District of Columbia, will preside over a request for a preliminary injunction that would halt construction.
If constructed, Mr. Trump’s arch will be built between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. Attorneys representing three Vietnam veterans say that the project has been rushed and does not have proper congressional approval.
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Those challenging the arch also say the project would disrupt the symbolic connection between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial.
“I think it’s just disrespectful to those that I served with who didn’t come back, and then, of course, to all those who are lying in Arlington National Cemetery,” Shaun Byrnes, one of the plaintiffs, told CBS News.
In September, Mr. Trump wrote that the arch would also be used as a “Top Grade Military Complex” outfitted with drones and snipers.
The DOJ has said that the first six months of arch construction would be foundational and below-ground work, and not interfere with what the plaintiffs say would cause aesthetic harm.
“Plaintiffs lack standing because their aesthetic and emotional displeasure at the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury under the Supreme Court’s controlling decision [in the White House ballroom case],” the DOJ said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also backed the president in a statement, saying that the arch would provide “a generational national defense opportunity” to stop threats.
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