WASHINGTON — Nine members of the Kennedy family moved on Tuesday to join federal lawsuits seeking to block President Donald Trump from constructing a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, arguing the massive monument would cast a shadow over the gravesites of their relatives and fallen military service members.
The plaintiffs, who are children and grandchildren of the late Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, filed an intervention motion and complaint in two ongoing challenges against the project, according to court documents reported by CBS News and Al Jazeera. The planned archway, which the administration envisions as a celebration of 250 years of American independence, would sit across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial at a traffic circle in close proximity to the cemetery.
Concerns Over Historic Views and Gravesites
Arlington National Cemetery holds the remains of former President John F. Kennedy, his two senator brothers and the Eternal Flame memorial. Relatives argued in their filing that placing the 76-meter granite and gold-decorated monument in the designated area would severely damage the century-old visual corridor connecting the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington House across Memorial Bridge.
“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,” Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy said in a joint statement reported by CBS News.
The motion was submitted by attorney Norm Eisen alongside the Democracy Defenders Fund. In the filing, lawyers asserted that the project represents a “permanent denigration” of the burial grounds that welcome millions of annual visitors, Al Jazeera reported.
Mounting Opposition to Capital Building Push
The intervention places the prominent political dynasty alongside a growing list of litigants opposing the project, including Vietnam War veterans, a historian, and local governments representing Washington, D.C., Virginia and Arlington County. Opponents claim the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service greenlit the venture without obtaining mandatory permission from Congress.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan barred the federal government from undertaking any construction-related operations on the site for 14 days after finding the development likely runs afoul of federal law, CBS News reported. The National Capital Planning Commission had earlier cleared the design proposal.
The White House has maintained that the structure complies with all applicable statutes and that opponents lack standing to challenge it in court. White House spokesman Davis Ingle stated that the administration expects to be “fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds and look forward to seeing the completion of this magnificent Arch — a tribute to 250 years of American greatness,” according to CBS News.
The dispute forms part of a broader set of capital construction initiatives backed by Trump, which have faced heightened scrutiny after Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress during last week’s midterm elections. Not all family members have aligned against the president’s agenda; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an appointee in the administration, did not participate in the legal challenge.
The federal court in Washington is currently weighing whether to grant a longer preliminary injunction to pause work indefinitely while the underlying lawsuits proceed.
