Veterans ask judge to block Memorial Circle arch construction before Nov. 5 start

By Ezra Whitfield

WASHINGTON — Three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian asked a federal judge Thursday to stop the Trump administration from starting construction of a monumental arch on Memorial Circle, a day after the National Park Service told the court that work could begin as soon as Nov. 5.

The plaintiffs in Lemmon v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-00544, before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and asked for a ruling by Nov. 4. They are represented by the Public Citizen Litigation Group.

Why Nov. 5

In its notice filed Wednesday, quoted in the plaintiffs’ motion, the government said that if the National Capital Planning Commission approves the project at its Nov. 5 meeting and the Interior Department then issues a final decision authorizing construction, “construction could commence as early as November 5, 2026,” once the Park Service posts notice of the authorization on its planning website.

That notice was required under an April 8 consent order, entered after an earlier hearing, in which the Park Service agreed to give at least 14 days’ public notice before beginning construction, or demolition in preparation for it, on Memorial Circle. The plaintiffs dropped their first injunction request at the time in light of that commitment.

Memorial Circle sits on Columbia Island, part of the District, at the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, on the axis between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery.

The legal fight

The plaintiffs, Michael Lemmon, Shaun Byrnes, Jon Gundersen and Calder Loth, sued in February. The defendants are President Trump, Vince Haley, the Executive Office of the President and the Park Service. The suit argues that building the arch without congressional approval is beyond the government’s authority, citing a 1912 law, now 40 U.S.C. § 8106, which says no “building or structure” may be erected on federal park land in the District “without express authority of Congress,” as well as the Commemorative Works Act.

According to the plaintiffs’ filing, the government’s only claimed source of authority is a 1925 law that authorized the now-defunct Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission to design and build the bridge and its approaches. A government motion to dismiss and both sides’ motions for summary judgment are fully briefed and await a decision.

“The law is clear. Trump’s arch cannot move forward without Congressional approval,” Wendy Liu, the Public Citizen attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “We are asking the court to halt construction before the administration makes it a fait accompli.”

Where the approvals stand

The motion says the Commission of Fine Arts gave the design final approval in May and the National Capital Planning Commission granted preliminary approval in July, with final plans on the commission’s Nov. 5 agenda. The Park Service completed an environmental assessment with a finding of no significant impact and a historic-preservation review.

That review, the Park Service’s own assessment of effects, lists adverse effects on historic properties including Arlington Memorial Bridge, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington House and the Lincoln Memorial, according to the excerpt quoted in the motion. Public Citizen says more than 40 historic properties would be affected.

In September, after the interior secretary posted that excavation would begin, Chutkan ordered the government to give 48 hours’ notice before any activity on the circle other than the archaeological excavation the Park Service said it was conducting, according to Public Citizen’s case summary.

Thomas Luebke, secretary of the Commission of Fine Arts, said the commission has reviewed the arch twice: it gave concept approval in April 2026, and in May 2026 it gave final approval to the revised concept except for the sculptural elements. A review of the sculpture has not been scheduled, and no submission date is known, he said.

The National Capital Planning Commission said it will review final site and building plans for the arch at its Thursday, Nov. 5 meeting, which will be held online.

The Inquisitor asked the Interior Department, the National Park Service, the Justice Department’s U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts and Public Citizen about the motion and the Nov. 5 timeline. The Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission responded; their answers are included above. The others had not immediately responded. This story will be updated with any other responses.

Update, Oct. 23, 2026: This story has been updated with responses from the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.

Photo: The traffic plaza on Columbia Island at the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge. National Park Service / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.