Justice Department says plaintiffs lack standing to challenge project
The Department of Justice and a group of Vietnam War veterans go before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday for an emergency hearing on the 250-foot arch President Donald Trump wants to build in Washington, D.C.
The plaintiffs — two veterans and a historian — will argue that the project is rushed and does not have approval from Congress. They have asked Chutkan to block construction before it begins, writing that the administration will likely begin work “in the hope that they can render the arch a fait accompli before this Court has made a final determination.”
Chutkan has already ordered the federal government to give 48 hours of advance notice before beginning work. Construction on the arch could begin as soon as Nov. 5, according to court filings. Excavation work began in September.
The plaintiffs also argue that the arch would disrupt the connection between the Lincoln Memorial and the Robert E. Lee Memorial, which was intended to show unity after the Civil War.
Shaun Byrnes, a plaintiff in the case, told CBS News earlier this year that his opposition was “more about the duty I feel towards my colleagues and friends who did not come home to stand up against this project, regardless of who’s in charge.”
“I think it’s just disrespectful to those that I served with who didn’t come back, and then, of course, to all those who are lying in Arlington National Cemetery,” Byrnes told CBS.
The Justice Department called the plaintiffs’ motions “breathless” and said Chutkan should follow recent Supreme Court precedent in the White House ballroom case. The department also argues that the plaintiffs do not have legal standing to bring the case.
“Plaintiffs lack standing because their aesthetic and emotional displeasure at the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury under the Supreme Court’s controlling decision,” the department argued, referring to the ballroom case.
The department also said the first six months of construction would not interfere with the plaintiffs’ claims of “irreparable harm” because the work would be mostly below ground, foundational construction.
The administration submitted statements from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. Both said the arch would allow the military and the Secret Service to use the structure to defend the nation’s capital against unmanned drone attacks and other potential threats. Hegseth said the arch “is a generational national defense opportunity.”
In September, Trump said the arch would be a “top grade Military Complex,” with snipers and drones.
Arlington County, Va., also filed a lawsuit this month, saying the administration bypassed environmental reviews.
The Friday hearing is scheduled before Chutkan, who has already imposed the advance-notice requirement on the government’s work at the site.