US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s triumphal arch project

US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

A US federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s massive triumphal arch project on Thursday, casting doubt over the future of the project hours after it was green-lit by a public commission.

District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, ruled that the Trump administration cannot start construction on the arch for two weeks while the court considers challenges to its legality.

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) had voted 8-4 to approve the project earlier Thursday, despite hearing hours of testimony from dozens of furious opponents who questioned its legality and purpose.

Chief among the complaints was the location of the 250-foot (76-meter) tall structure: adjacent to the hallowed Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for hundreds of thousands of American service members.

The giant arch would be much taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, its inspiration. It would also tower over the Lincoln Memorial, directly across the Potomac River.

The four dissenting commissioners had called for the decision to be delayed, noting there were legal concerns, a lack of congressional appropriation to fund the project and questions about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s claims of the arch’s military use.

But the majority on the panel, which is controlled by Trump allies, voted against a delay and the Trump administration said it aimed to start work right away.

Chutkan’s ruling sided with several veterans and the attorneys general of Washington and Virginia, who had sued seeking to halt construction of the arch.

‘Illegal project’

The arch is one of several projects launched by Trump in a bid to put his personal stamp on the capital, many of which have prompted legal challenges.

They include a White House ballroom, for which Trump had an entire wing of the presidential mansion demolished. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the plaintiff who filed suit to halt the project did not have standing.

Another is the repeated renovation of the Reflecting Pool, a massive rectangular water basin on the National Mall.

Trump has also proposed revamping the East Potomac Golf Links, a historic waterfront Washington golf course, cutting down hundreds of trees before a judge halted the project.

The location, a traffic circle currently covered in grass, is key to the Trump administration’s defense of the project.

Proponents claim that Congress approved the construction of a monument at the site over a century ago.

However, that plan envisioned two large columns, meant to signify the North and the South in the US Civil War, not an arch.

More than 100 people, often speaking as representatives of organizations, expressed their nearly unanimous opposition.

Kicking off the remarks was congressman Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees public parks.

“This arch would dishonor America, our ideals and our laws,” he said, warning that contractors who work on the project could possibly be running afoul of the law.

“I urge all officials and firms involved with this illegal project to consider the legal hazards they may be facing by advancing it,” he said.

“Because, in case you hadn’t heard, we’ll soon have a new Congress that takes the rule of law very seriously,” he added, referring to the Democrats’ winning control of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

AFP