US judge temporarily blocks Trump's arch project after panel approval
· DWA judge ordered a two-week stop to construction on US President Trump's arch project in Washington. A federal panel had approved Trump's triumphal arch plans in an 8-4 vote.
A United States federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from breaking ground on a proposed 250-foot (76-meter) memorial arch for two weeks, shortly after it won a key approval from a public commission.
The temporary restraining order comes as a setback for one of the most prominent projects in Trump's vision to remake the US capital to his tastes.
The Trump administration claims that Congress approved the construction of a monument at the site more than 100 years ago. But that plan envisioned two large columns, signifying the northern states and the southern states in the US Civil War — not an arch.
"The sheer improbability that a 100-year-old statute would contain authority, unknown to every previous administration, to erect a 250-foot arch at a principal location in the nation's capital indicates how far (the government) must stretch to justify this project," US District Judge Tanya Chutkan said, issuing Friday's order.
Chutkan has directed the government to provide a status report on Monday to ensure its compliance with the order.
On Thursday, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) gave its approval to the arch project in an 8-4 vote, which came after a nine-and-a-half-hour hearing that saw dozens of witnesses express their opposition to the construction and question both its legality and purpose.
What is Trump's proposed memorial arch?
The building of a triumphal arch in Washington D.C. to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence on July 4, was first floated as an idea by Trump last year.
In April this year, Trump confirmed that the plans for the arch had been filed with the US Commission of Fine Arts.
The arch draws inspiration from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris but would be over 50% taller than the famous French monument.
Criticism over Trump's arch in Washington
The proposed site for the project has drawn criticism. The towering structure, across the Potomac River, would lie between Arlington National Cemetery — the final resting place for hundreds of thousands of US service members — and the 100-foot-tall Lincoln Memorial.
Critics say the arch would cast a shadow on graves at the hallowed cemetery. The Trump administration says it would honor veterans.
Concerns had also been raised about the project's impact on traffic.
Chutkan said on Friday that an approval would result in construction for nearly three years "that will disrupt traffic, create noise, result in large-scale excavation, and more."
Last Saturday, the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia had sued the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior, seeking to prevent work from beginning on the arch and calling it "legally indefensible."