Kennedys Move to Block Trump’s Arch, Saying It Would Disturb JFK Gravesite

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch has come under legal fire on multiple fronts: from veterans, a historian and the governments of the District of Columbia, Virginia and Arlington County.

Now comes another legal challenge, from the storied Kennedy family.

Arguing that the arch, with its golden angels and flame on top, would cast a shadow on their relatives’ graves in Arlington National Cemetery, nine members of the Kennedy family moved to join existing litigation in Washington on Tuesday seeking to block the project. They also say the arch would obstruct the intended sightline from the eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite, “destroying an essential element of the gravesite’s design.”

Construction of the arch, one of Trump’s favorite projects, has been temporarily paused by a judge in another case. If allowed to proceed, it would rise between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The filing claims that the placement would obstruct “a line of sight that was designed to represent the unification of the nation following the Civil War and that has existed for nearly a century.”

The arch “will permanently cast a shadow over plaintiffs’ parents’ graves and the graves of servicemen and -women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country,” the filing added.

The plaintiffs are children or grandchildren of Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, the former president’s brothers, who are buried near him.

“A towering arch casting shadows across the graves of our father, mother and uncles, as well as the graves of so many who have served our country, would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles, undermining the safeguards established by our elected representatives to protect this hallowed ground for generations to come,” two of the plaintiffs, Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy, who are children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, said in a statement.

Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that it was “unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the arch, as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery.”

He added: “The judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation. We will continue making the case for this beautiful and fitting monument and are confident we will be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds.”

Trump’s project has received a mix of good and bad news in recent days. On Thursday, the National Capital Planning Commission, which is led by allies of the president, gave the project final approval, clearing the way for Trump to break ground. But immediately afterward, a federal judge blocked construction.

The ruling by Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia halted construction for 14 days while legal challenges make their way through the court system. In a 33-page opinion, Chutkan said the arch required congressional approval and that its construction could prove costly to both Virginia and the District of Columbia while disrupting traffic at the cemetery, one of the region’s most-visited sites.

The suit from the Kennedys includes some of those same arguments but expands on the personal effect the arch would have on the family.

“The gigantic proposed arch is an illegal interference with Arlington National Cemetery and the heroes remembered there, including at the gravesites and memorials of the Kennedy brothers and Ethel Kennedy,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers, Norman Eisen and Steve Jonas of the Democracy Defenders Fund, said in a statement. “Only Congress has the constitutional power to authorize an intrusion of this magnitude. Today, members of the Kennedy family are joining with the other litigants in this case to protect this historic site — and to defend the rule of law and separation of powers.”

Even as the arch faces a flurry of litigation, Trump administration officials are preparing to get to work should they prevail in court.

Last month, National Park Service officials set aside $15.4 million to pay for initial design work at the arch site, according to government documents reviewed by The New York Times. The documents said the work would be funded by private donations to the park service, but did not identify the source of those donations.

The park service also declined to identify the source. The nonprofit groups that raised money for Trump’s White House ballroom and “Freedom 250” celebrations both said they were not raising money to build the arch.

Last week, the White House posted a video on social media that showed a rendering of the arch towering over the area near Arlington National Cemetery. The group that made the video is called the United States Triumphal Arch Foundation, which is also not raising money to build the arch. Its president, Randy Evans, said in an interview Tuesday that his group intended only to provide “concepts and thoughts” about the arch’s design, and would not raise money to build it.