DC, Virginia file suit to block construction on Trump's proposed arch

The suit seeks a temporary restraining order blocking the construction.

Less than a week before final design approval of President Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch is expected to be granted, officials in Washington D.C. and Virginia, the two regional governments that would be most affected by the project, are now asking a judge to block its construction. 

The new federal lawsuit, jointly filed on Saturday morning by the District of Columbia and Commonwealth of Virginia, calls the arch "fragrantly unlawful" and "legally indefensible" without congressional authorization. 

The two governments say that their standing to file the suit is "indisputable," given the impacts their residents would likely experience if work on the arch begins next week, as the administration has indicated it could. 

The filing claims the two jurisdictions "will suffer a battery of irreparable injuries as soon as construction begins—from disruptions of local traffic to environmental degradation to threats to security and emergency preparations."

The suit seeks a temporary restraining order blocking the construction. 

The National Capital Planning Commission is expected to take its final vote to approve the arch's design on Thursday.

The Trump administration has said in court that construction could begin that same day, if the NCPC grants the expected approval. 

All this year, the Trump administration has been fighting another lawsuit brought by Vietnam-era veterans who say the arch would negatively impact their experience while visiting Arlington National Cemetery.

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Trump has said the arch, which will be built on a busy traffic circle at the foot of Memorial Bridge, would become a drone port and a storehouse for ammunition.

Sworn declarations by the secretaries of defense and homeland security were recently filed in the case brought by the veterans to bolster the administration's argument that the project is necessary for national security. 

The administration hasn't immediately commented about Saturday's filing.

Earlier this month, the Interior Department submitted final plans for the proposed arch to the planning commission.

The plan, which also refers to the project as the Monumental Arch, includes a golden winged statue resembling the Statue of Liberty standing on top of the 25-story-tall arch holding a torch with the so-called "eternal flame." The Interior Department says this design is being proposed so the flame can be visible from all angles, including at night, while maintaining visual comfort for drivers and visitors and the surrounding environment, according to NCPC’s project summary.

The proposed arch would be more than twice as tall as the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial and taller than France's Arc de Triomphe.