Government plan describes a structure more than 12 stories high
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday imposed new notification deadlines for President Donald Trump’s proposed memorial arch at Memorial Circle. Decisions by the National Capital Planning Commission, National Park Service or U.S. Department of the Interior must be reported to her within one hour. Chutkan did not approve the project or issue a final injunction in the order; it added reporting requirements while she considers a preliminary injunction in the consolidated litigation.
Chutkan, whom President Barack Obama nominated, also put defendants on notice about preparatory work. She wrote: “defendants shall also provide notice within thirty minutes of any activity related to or in preparation for the construction of an arch on Memorial Circle. Defendants are reminded that any construction or demolition in preparation for construction before the National Park Service issues final agency action authorizing construction or without 14 days’ notice would be a violation of the court’s previous orders.”
The reporting order came amid a flurry of court activity over the weekend. Chutkan was already considering a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by three Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian when the District of Columbia and Virginia filed a separate lawsuit opposing construction and seeking a temporary restraining order. Chutkan consolidated the cases and set a joint briefing schedule, an indication that her decision will likely be triggered by the National Capital Planning Commission meeting.
The agency deadlines fit within a process the government laid out to the court Oct. 28, with National Capital Planning Commission approval pending for Nov. 5. Construction could begin only after that approval was finished, the Interior Department issued a final decision authorizing construction and the proper notice was published by the National Park Service. The government’s notice said, “NPS may publish such notice as early as November 5, 2026, and construction could commence as early as November 5, 2026.”
On Friday, the government submitted a 106-page plan for the arch. The proposal describes a massive structure more than 12 stories high that includes a huge bronze figure of Lady Liberty with wings, carrying a torch with an eternal flame. It would include an observation deck with views to the east and west, an “occupied roof” and two mezzanines.
Inside the proposed arch are rooms for program space, offices, a staff lounge, circular staircases, multiple elevators and a “fire command center.” The plan also calls for significant traffic changes around the site, including rerouting traffic on nearby roads. Administration officials have said the arch also will have a national security function.
At the Oct. 30 hearing, Chutkan asked what urgency existed and how the government would be harmed “apart from the executive’s desire to bedazzle the city” if she issued a preliminary injunction while the lawsuit proceeded. Robert Stander, an administration lawyer, said the arch was “absolutely a high priority project” and that an injunction would impede the work of the government.
The arch is one of several projects around Washington that President Donald Trump has undertaken as he remakes the city. President Donald Trump has also renovated a Washington public golf course and threatened to demolish the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Charles A. Birnbaum, founding President and CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, one of the organizations challenging administration projects, said Chutkan’s order sends a message: “The administration is learning they cannot ignore the judiciary in the way they’ve ignored the public.”