A mockup of President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch stands at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, June 27, 2026, in Washington. Jen Golbeck/AP hide caption
The commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Saturday to block construction on President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch.
The 45-page lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia called the project "flagrantly unlawful," attorneys general Jay Jones of Virginia and Brian Schwalb of the District of Columbia wrote.
The lawsuit is the latest legal attempt to stop construction of the 250-foot tall arch whose plans were unveiled by the Trump administration in Oct. 2025.
The attorneys general also allege that construction on the arch, which could begin as soon as next week, will "inflict irreparable harm" on the District and Virginia, including snarling traffic between both areas. The arch would be located between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. It would stand twice the height of the monument honoring America's 16th president.
"Both jurisdictions will need to take immediate and costly steps to assess, respond to, and mitigate these harmful effects," they wrote in the lawsuit. "These costs are severe and unrecoverable—particularly because Defendants have refused to take them into account or adequately consult with either jurisdiction during their hurried and preordained process to approve the Arch and start construction."
NPR reached out to both the White House and the Interior Department for comment on the lawsuit on Saturday but has not received a response.
Trump has previously defended plans to build the arch and said it would be a "military complex" to hold weapons and snipers. The most recent plans for the arch, which will be reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission, do not include military elements.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkin ordered both sides to talk and to agree on a proposed briefing schedule on the motion for a temporary restraining order by Saturday evening.
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