Trump ‘triumphal arch’ opponents seek emergency court action after groundbreaking plans were announced

(CNN) — The Trump administration plans to break ground on the president’s “triumphal arch” in the next two weeks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced Thursday, immediately spurring opponents to go to federal court for an emergency injunction.

“We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch,” Burgum wrote on X.

Late Friday, government lawyers seemed to backtrack, saying in a court filing what’s currently planned is archeological survey work that’s needed to “ensure compliance with statutes such as the National Historic Preservation Act.” The work would start no later than September 21, and the land would be restored by October 31, according to the filing.

“This activity is not construction, or demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch,” the lawyers said in the filing.

After the new filings, Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the administration to give her 48 hours notice before it begins any other work on the project, besides the grounds testing described in the Friday filings.

Burgum’s announcement stoked fears that the project is moving forward even though a pending lawsuit aims to stop it, critics say it needs congressional approval, it hasn’t gotten the greenlight from a DC planning commission, and an FAA review of potential impact on flights hasn’t been completed.

That familiar pattern under President Donald Trump – who has plowed ahead with various “beautification” projects in the nation’s capital despite opposition and without going through normal processes – again prompted an outcry.

“The fact that they’re moving forward on this before any of the legal steps required is egregious,” Ed Stierli, of National Parks Conservation Association told CNN.

Democratic Rep. Don Beyer, who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes Arlington National Cemetery, the historic grounds across the Potomac River from where the arch would be built, said: “This project is not even close to being ready for prime time.”

Plans to begin excavation are “plainly illegal without congressional authorization,” he added.

The arch’s opponents filed a request for a temporary restraining order on Friday.

“This Court should enter a temporary restraining order blocking Defendants’ efforts to blaze ahead with an unlawful course of conduct in the hope that they can render the arch a fait accompli before this Court has had the chance to reach a final determination as to whether Defendants’ project is authorized by law,” lawyers against the plan said in the Friday filing.

Among the individuals suing are veterans who say the arch would disrupt the sightline from the Lincoln Memorial to the Arlington cemetery and Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee memorial.

The Interior Department did not respond to CNN’s questions, including the extent of the planned excavation.

Trump has argued that he does not need congressional approval, and the administration has cited a 1925 plan authorized by Congress to build columns close to the proposed arch site to contend that it doesn’t need further legislative oversight. Those columns were never built.

The Justice Department has asked that the arch lawsuit be rejected. In a Thursday court filing, the DOJ pointed to a recent ruling from the Supreme Court that allowed construction of the East Wing Ballroom, another Trump project, to continue.

In the 5-4 decision, the conservative justices said that courts couldn’t block ballroom construction because the legal challengers had failed to show they were being harmed in a way that would call for the judges to intervene.

Similarly, DOJ said in the arch case: “Plaintiffs cannot establish standing based on desires to view Arlington House or the Lincoln Memorial.”

The National Capital Planning Commission – one of two key federal agencies that reviews and approves major changes on government property in Washington, DC — has only given preliminary approval for the project. The earliest it could give its final approval would be October 1, the date of the commission’s next monthly meeting.

But first, an assessment of how the arch impacts historic and cultural sites – known as a Section 106 review, a key requirement under the National Historic Preservation Act – must be completed.

The Federal Aviation Authority also continues its own review of the arch, which would sit less than two miles from a runway at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, one of the busiest in the country.

A preliminary study done by the FAA determined that the arch would pose no risk to air travel but recommended that red obstruction lights be added to the arch.

FAA regulations require structures that exceed 200 feet and are in a place where they could interfere with airspace to be subject to a review.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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