Nine Kennedy Family Members Ask Judge to Join Suits Against Trump's 250-Foot Arlington Arch

Nine members of the Kennedy family asked a federal judge in Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 10, for permission to join the legal fight against President Trump's planned 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

They filed a motion to intervene, plus a complaint, in two existing suits. One was brought by the District of Columbia and Virginia. The other was brought by Michael Lemmon, a Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. ambassador.

The family members are children and grandchildren of Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. They include seven of Robert Kennedy's living children, all but Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who did not join.

What the Kennedys are asking for

Their lawyers, Norm Eisen and the Democracy Defenders Fund, want the court to bar the administration "from taking any steps to approve, authorize, or construct the Arch absent congressional authorization, designation by Congress of a sponsor, and compliance with all statutory requirements."

The filing makes two arguments. One is about process: the National Park Service and the Interior Department authorized the structure without approval from Congress. The other is about the site itself.

The arch is slated for Memorial Circle, between the Lincoln Memorial and the cemetery. At 250 feet, it would stand more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial.

The family says it would cast a shadow over the Kennedy gravesites and block the sight line from the Eternal Flame across Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. They call that line "an essential element" of the design. The relatives say the project would "fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites" and amount to a "permanent denigration" of them.

Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy put it in broader terms in a joint statement. A towering arch casting shadows over the graves of their parents and uncles, and of many other service members, they said, "would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles, undermining the safeguards established by our elected representatives to protect this hallowed ground."

Where the case stands

The Kennedys are joining a crowded docket. D.C. and Virginia sued the Park Service and the Interior Department late last month, calling the project "flagrantly unlawful" because the president never sought congressional approval. Their complaint says that in their rush to break ground, the defendants "made only half-hearted gestures at complying with these requirements." Vietnam veterans, a historian and Arlington County have also challenged the project.

The National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 last week to approve the plans. The meeting ran nine hours and drew more than 100 public comments, most of them opposed to the arch.

Judge Tanya Chutkan then issued a temporary restraining order. It bars "construction-related activity" for 14 days, and she found the plan likely illegal. The plaintiffs have asked for a longer-term injunction. The administration had sought to break ground as early as this month.

The administration's position

The White House says the arch will commemorate 250 years of American independence and honor those buried at Arlington. Spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement that it is "unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the Arch as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery."

He added: "The judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation." Earlier, Ingle said "an activist district court has temporarily blocked the construction of the long-awaited Arch."

In court, the government has argued that the arch does not violate the law and that the plaintiffs lack standing to sue. The Justice Department declined to comment on the Kennedy filing.

Standing is a real hurdle for any plaintiff challenging a federal project on aesthetic or sight-line grounds, and the Kennedys now have to clear it too. Chutkan has to decide whether to let them in at all.

A pattern of Washington projects

The arch is one of several Washington projects Trump has pushed. He has also renovated a public golf course in the capital. The Kennedy Center was shut after a judge blocked him from adding his name to the building, and Trump has threatened to demolish it. The Kennedys and Trump have already clashed over that fight.

The White House last week launched a polished website promoting the arch, which is designed with gold ornamentation and gray granite. The projects could face tougher congressional scrutiny after Democrats' midterm gains.

What comes next

The 14-day restraining order, issued last week, will lapse unless Chutkan extends it or replaces it with a longer injunction. She has not yet ruled on the plaintiffs' request for one.

She also has to decide whether the Kennedys can join the suits. And she has yet to decide the question at the center of the D.C. and Virginia case: whether the administration needed Congress to authorize the arch before building it.