President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch has been hit with another lawsuit, as local authorities in Arlington, Virginia, have sued the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior in a bid to stop construction of the monument. The legal filing, reviewed by Newsweek, slammed the proposal as “President Trump’s latest vanity project.” The board said in the complaint that the project within a busy corridor would cause “significant harm,” and alleged that the National Park Service failed to conduct a thorough review.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Newsweek over email in response to the lawsuit “The White House and Trump Administration have been fastidiously compliant with all procedural and legal requirements and are certain this meritless and dilatory lawsuit will be dismissed." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior said in a statement to Newsweek over email, “The Department continues to follow all laws and regulations.” The complaint was situated amid broader concerns about beautification efforts made by the Trump administration. Citing the paving over of the Rose Garden, demolition of the White House’s East Wing and the embattled renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, the filing said that the administration has made it a “priority” to remake the landscape of the capital “in President Trump’s image and based on his whims, destroying treasured public spaces in the process.” The lawsuit is seeking for the “feverish pace” toward construction of the arch to be halted to ensure that requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act are followed. Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a statement, "The Arlington County Board has filed this lawsuit because our community has the most to lose from this egregious and unlawful proposed project." Newsweek has contacted the White House and the National Park Service for additional comment via email.
News first broke in October of 2025 that Trump wanted to construct a new triumphal arch, comparable to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Public planning documents outline a roughly 250-foot granite-clad structure with associated plaza and landscaping work, utilities, traffic modifications, lighting and security features. If constructed, the monument would alter the Washington, D.C. skyline as it would be more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial.
Ingle told Newsweek "The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world." He said that it would enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery and serve "as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today." The arch would be built at the Memorial Circle, a roundabout just across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial in front of Arlington National Cemetery. The board has become the first governmental body to take legal action against the arch. But the arch has been hit with multiple legal challenges.
On September 4, a group of Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian sued over the proposed arch, seeking an emergency court order to halt work on the project. The plaintiffs had first sued the Trump administration over the project in February. Veterans, lawmakers and activists gathered near Arlington National Cemetery on October 1 to protest the arch and argued that the project would disrupt one of the nation's most significant memorial landscapes and proceed without proper congressional authorization.
The administration has maintained that the arch can legally proceed and has defended it as a tribute to military service and America's 250th anniversary. Trump has argued the monument would honor veterans and make Washington comparable to other world capitals that feature monumental arches. Last month, Trump said that the arch would be converted into a military complex capable of storing and rapidly deploying drones, snipers and ammunition and said the change came at the “strong request” of the U.S. military.
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