Kennedy family members seek to block Trump’s Arlington arch

Nine members of the Kennedy family have asked a federal judge to block President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, arguing that it would obstruct views of their relatives’ graves and permanently change the experience of visiting the site.

In court filings Tuesday, the family members sought to join a lawsuit brought by Washington, D.C., and Virginia against the project. Several Vietnam War veterans are also suing the administration over the arch.

The proposed structure would stand at a traffic circle across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial. The administration says it would commemorate 250 years of American independence. The National Capital Planning Commission approved plans last week, but U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan then barred the government from beginning any “construction-related activity” for 14 days, finding that the plan is likely illegal. Opponents are seeking a longer-term injunction.

The Kennedys’ filing says the arch would obstruct sightlines from the family’s gravesites and the Eternal Flame commemorating President John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy, his brothers Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward Kennedy, and Robert’s wife, Ethel Kennedy, are buried at Arlington.

The family members wrote that the project would “permanently cast a shadow over the graves of servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country, including the Kennedy Gravesites.” Their complaint also says it would “fundamentally alter the experience of visiting” the family memorial, The Guardian reported.

“Americans from every corner of the country visit Arlington to honor those who served and sacrificed for our nation,” Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy said in a statement. They said an arch casting shadows across the graves of their relatives and others buried there would also “cast a shadow over our democratic principles,” undermining safeguards meant to protect the cemetery.

The family argues that the National Park Service and Interior Department authorized construction without the required congressional approval, according to The Guardian. Opponents also say the arch would interrupt views between the cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The Kennedys’ complaint specifically cites the view between the memorial and Arlington House, which it says were designed to face each other to represent national reunification after the Civil War.

The government disputes that the proposal violates the law and argues that the plaintiffs lack standing to sue. White House spokesman Davis Ingle said last week that the administration was confident it would be “fully vindicated” in court and looked forward to completing what he called “a tribute to 250 years of American greatness.”

The administration had sought to break ground as early as this month. The Justice Department recently said construction would not be completed before the end of Trump’s second term, The Guardian reported.

The arch is among several construction projects around Washington that Trump has pushed. Some Kennedy family members have also criticized his efforts to add his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Kerry Kennedy and Joe Kennedy III, who have spoken against that move, are among those seeking to join the arch lawsuit.