Three Vietnam War veterans asked a federal judge to stop work from beginning on President Donald Trump’s planned arch. In an emergency filing, as described by The Washington Post, their lawyers wrote that U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan should issue a temporary restraining order against the newly announced work. The same veterans first sued in February in an effort to block the arch.
Their lawyers argued Friday that the administration is seeking to render the project a “fait accompli” by moving quickly. They said the planned 250-foot-tall arch has not been authorized by Congress and remains in the middle of federal reviews. They also said the administration is trying to outrace federal courts on the project.
The veterans have warned that the planned arch would harm their experience when they visit nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Public Citizen, a government watchdog organization, represents them. Trump administration lawyers had previously argued that the project should not be halted because official work has not begun.
Interior secretary said excavation will start within two weeks
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Thursday that excavation work on the arch will start within the next two weeks. He said that the start would open an aggressive timeline aimed at building the arch within the next two to three years. The administration seems determined to move forward with the project despite legal challenges.
On Thursday, administration lawyers asked Chutkan to throw out the veterans’ challenge to the arch. They pointed to this week’s Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s proposed White House ballroom and treated that decision as precedent. The veterans argued that courts could intervene despite prior work, as a federal court recently halted a different Trump project.
The court’s conservative majority ruled 5-4 that historic preservationists who sued to stop the ballroom could not prove they had been directly harmed by that project. Justice Department lawyers wrote Thursday that the veterans’ feelings on “the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury.”
The veterans’ lawyers also cited the administration’s legal arguments about the proposed White House ballroom. Those arguments said courts could not stop that project because too much work had already been done, the lawyers said.
The emergency filing asked the judge to block the newly announced work before excavation starts. The veterans’ lawyers wrote that the arch still has no congressional authorization and is still going through federal review.
Published: Sep 5, 2026 07:30 am