Judge temporarily blocks work on Trump arch after panel’s approval

A federal judge late Thursday ordered a pause on the construction of President Trump’s triumphal arch for 14 days.

The temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan came shortly after the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) voted to approve the administration’s plans to build the arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

The motion passed by an 8-4 vote on Thursday after more than 100 public remarks, mostly against the project, in a nine-hour meeting.

In a memorandum opinion filed with the order , Chutkan wrote that D.C. and Virginia — which sued the administration over the project last month — “have shown that construction of the Arch will cause harm by ‘clogging traffic, impeding disaster preparedness, and harming the environment,’ which will also ‘require both jurisdictions to expend resources to monitor and mitigate those impacts.’”

“First, the harm is certain,” the judge continued. “Second, the District and Virginia will incur significant unrecoverable costs.”

“These are not self-inflicted costs. When federal action causes a state to undertake ‘expenditures to mitigate and recover from harms that could have been prevented’ absent that action, the state suffers an injury to its proprietary interests,” she added.

The judge also ordered the government to file a status report by Nov. 9 to certify that they are complying with the order.

The White House, in a Friday morning post on the social platform X , called the arch a “Monument to the American Spirit.”

“The Military Triumphal Arch will honor the heroes who gave everything for our nation — a monumental tribute to America’s first 250 years & a symbol of the next 250,” the post said.

In a Thursday press release, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who represents Virginia’s 8th District, which includes the Arlington National Cemetery and Ronald Reagan National Airport, thanked the judge for her order.

“Judge Chutkan’s injunction will properly restrain Trump’s rush to ignore and bypass legal barriers, overwhelming opposition from the people most affected, and glaring evidence of irreparable harm to national treasures like Arlington National Cemetery,” Beyer said in the release.

“I will do everything in my power alongside my colleagues in the Democratic majorities just elected to the next Congress to ensure that this wasteful, disrespectful monstrosity goes nowhere,” he added.

At Thursday’s virtual meeting, which initially crashed and resumed about 40 minutes later, the commissioners and NCPC Chair Mark Paoletta spoke out in favor of the arch.

Paoletta, who was appointed by Trump, cited the 1925 congressional authorization for the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission. The president and administration have also previously leaned on the commission’s authorization as reason to continue the project.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, called on the panel to reject the final proposal to build the arch during the hearing.

“Our most revered presidents earned their place of honor,” Huffman said. “They didn’t try to bestow it on themselves with gaudy tributes. The monuments to them came later, after history had judged that they were deserved.”