D.C. and Virginia Sue to Stop 250-Foot Triumphal Arch Days Before Planned Groundbreaking
The District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia sued the National Park Service and the Interior Department on Saturday to stop construction of a 250-foot "Triumphal Arch" at Memorial Circle, arguing in federal court that the project needs approval from Congress that it has never received.
The 46-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and reviewed by The Digital Free Press, was brought by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones. It names the Park Service, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Jessica Bowron, the Park Service comptroller exercising the authority of the director. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
"This project is flagrantly unlawful," the complaint says. It states that the defendants have announced construction could begin "as soon as November 5."
What the States Say the Law Requires
The lawsuit makes several claims. First, it says the Commemorative Works Act and a separate federal law, 40 U.S.C. 8106, require specific authorization from Congress before a monument is built on federal land in the District, and that "it has obtained none."
Second, it cites the Height of Buildings Act, which the complaint says bars any building in the District taller than 130 feet with limited exceptions. The arch "would nearly double that statutory restriction," the states argue.
Third, the complaint says the Park Service did not properly weigh alternatives, costs and consultation under the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. It says the agency did not begin the historic-preservation review until June 5, 2026, "nearly eight months after the initial announcement," and asked the District's and Virginia's historic preservation offices to speed it up.
The site matters to both jurisdictions, according to the filing. Memorial Circle sits on an island in the Potomac at the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, within the District's boundaries, and links the bridge to Memorial Avenue and Arlington National Cemetery. The complaint says more than 27,000 vehicles, 1,100 cyclists and 1,200 pedestrians pass through the circle each day, and that during a two- to three-year construction period the south side of the circle would close and lanes on the bridge would be reduced.
When the Triumphal Arch Could Break Ground
According to the complaint, the Commission of Fine Arts gave its final approval on May 21, 2026, and the Park Service has asked the National Capital Planning Commission for final approval at a meeting scheduled for Nov. 5. The states say the government told the court on Oct. 21 that it may begin construction the same day it receives that approval.
The filing describes the planned arch as a concrete structure clad in granite or marble, topped by a "central winged figure and two statues," with ticketing, gallery space and an observation deck. It says the Park Service estimates 2,000 to 22,000 people a day could visit.
The states ask the court to declare the project's approvals unlawful and to bar construction. The Associated Press reported that this is the third lawsuit seeking to halt the arch, and that Judge Chutkan held a hearing Friday on a request to pause the project in an earlier case brought by three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian.
The Administration's Position
The Park Service has said the arch would honor the nation's 250th anniversary, according to the complaint. White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the AP the arch "is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world" and will serve "as a gateway to Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike."
The government had not filed a response to the new complaint on the public docket as of Saturday night.
Sources: District of Columbia v. National Park Service, No. 1:26-cv-03838 (D.D.C.), complaint filed Oct. 31, 2026: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75053865/district-of-columbia-v-national-park-service/ ; Associated Press via PBS NewsHour, "Virginia and D.C. sue over Trump's arch" (Oct. 31, 2026): https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/virginia-and-d-c-sue-over-trumps-arch-adding-to-legal-challenges-as-government-wants-work-to-begin ; National Park Service project page: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/triumphalarch . Cover photo: Memorial Circle by michiel1972 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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