WASHINGTON — Plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to stop the Trump administration from building a triumphal arch along the Potomac River asked a federal judge on Thursday to halt all construction plans, one day after the National Park Service signaled it would begin work Nov. 5, the Associated Press reported.

Source: Associated Press via KCAU 9

The plaintiffs — three veterans and a retired architectural historian — asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to prohibit the administration and the National Park Service “from taking any steps to construct, or to direct or facilitate construction of, any structure in Memorial Circle, absent congressional authorization, during the pendency of this litigation.” They have asked the judge to rule by Nov. 4, according to reporting on the filing.

Source: Raw Story reporting via News24

250 feet (76 metres)Planned height of the triumphal arch at Memorial Circle
Nov. 5, 2026Earliest construction start in the government's own court notice
Noon FridayDeadline Chutkan set for both sides to file a joint briefing schedule

The Park Service and the executive office of the president filed a notice Wednesday saying they planned to possibly begin construction as early as Nov. 5, pending approval by the National Capital Planning Commission, which is scheduled to meet that day to consider final approval of the site and building plans. Construction could begin once that approval is finished, the Interior Department issues a final decision and the proper notification is published, the notice said: “NPS may publish such notice as early as November 5, 2026, and construction could commence as early as November 5, 2026.”

The plaintiffs' Thursday filing said the notice “makes clear that the defendants have no intention of awaiting this court's decision on the cross-motions for summary judgment and have every intention of imminently beginning construction of the arch on Memorial Circle.” The plaintiffs, represented in part by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, sued in federal court in Washington saying the project needs approval by Congress, even though it has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all tapped by President Donald Trump.

The arch, planned at 250 feet (76 metres) tall, is one of Trump's signature Washington projects. He has said it might also include national security functions such as drones and snipers; plans the Interior Department submitted to the planning commission do not mention the “military complex” he has described, although the agency said the plan could accommodate such a feature.

The Washington lawsuit is one of two challenging the arch. The Arlington County Board in Virginia sued earlier this month in the Eastern District of Virginia, becoming the first governmental body to take legal action against the monument and criticizing the speed of the review process — a claim the administration disputed. Chutkan has not yet ruled on the injunction request.