Lawmakers say Trump’s 250-foot arch breaks federal law

Six in Congress oppose the arch

Six members of Congress want a federal court to stop President Trump from building a 250-foot arch in Washington, D.C.

The group filed a legal brief on March 7 in U.S. District Court arguing the project breaks federal law. Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, and Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from California, lead the effort.

Four other lawmakers signed on, including Sens. Martin Heinrich and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Yassamin Ansari and Maxine Dexter.

Two federal laws stand in the way

The brief points to two laws the arch would violate.

The first is the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, which says Congress must approve any monument built on National Park Service or federal land in the capital.

The second is a separate law that limits construction on public buildings and grounds. Memorial Circle, where Trump wants the arch, sits in the most protected zone under the Commemorative Works Act.

That zone demands extra congressional approval. Since 1986, Congress has approved more than 40 monuments through this process.

A nonpartisan research office weighed in

Sen. King asked the Congressional Research Service to look into whether these laws apply.

The CRS, a nonpartisan research arm of Congress, found that the Commemorative Works Act does appear to govern the arch.

It also found that the separate construction law would appear to require Congress to sign off before anyone builds a memorial arch on Memorial Circle.

That finding gave the lawmakers more legal backing for their brief.

Vietnam veterans filed the original lawsuit

The congressional brief backs a lawsuit that the Public Citizen Litigation Group filed on Feb. 19.

Three Vietnam War veterans and a retired architectural historian brought the case. Michael Lemmon, a veteran and former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, is among them.

So are Shaun Byrnes, who served in the Navy and spent 30 years in the Foreign Service, and Jon Gundersen. They want the court to block construction until Congress approves the project and all permits are in place.

The arch would tower over nearby monuments

Trump’s proposed arch would stand 250 feet tall, one foot for each year of American independence. The design features two eagles and a golden winged figure Trump has called Lady Liberty.

That makes it taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which stands about 164 feet, and more than double the height of the Lincoln Memorial at about 99 feet.

Nicolas Leo Charbonneau of Harrison Design is the architect, and White House domestic policy director Vince Haley took charge of the project in December 2025.

Veterans say the arch dishonors their service

The veterans in the lawsuit argue the arch would block the historic sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery.

That view was designed on purpose to symbolize the country coming back together after the Civil War, and it has stayed clear for close to a century.

The plaintiffs say putting a massive structure in the way would dishonor their military and foreign service and disrespect everyone buried at Arlington.

The lawsuit raises safety and environmental concerns

Beyond the monument laws, the lawsuit also says the project violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

The plaintiffs argue the administration never got approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts or the National Capital Planning Commission.

They also raise a safety concern: a 250-foot arch near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport could create problems for air traffic.

The administration has not filed the required notice with the FAA’s airspace review program, according to the suit.

The White House defends the project

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the arch would improve the experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, military families, and all Americans.

The administration has framed it as part of a broader push to mark the country’s 250th birthday with monuments celebrating American history and military service.

Trump has said the project is fully paid for, with some money coming from a leftover ballroom budget and private donations through Freedom 250, housed within the National Park Foundation.

Trump has also said he may sign an executive order to speed things up.

Another Trump building plan faces legal trouble

This is not the first time a Trump construction project in the capital has landed in court.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a separate lawsuit over plans to tear down the White House East Wing and replace it with a privately funded 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

A federal judge has questioned whether the White House can legally build the ballroom without Congress signing off.

Both cases come down to the same question: can the president build on federal land in Washington without congressional approval?

The arch ties to July 4 anniversary plans

Trump proposed the arch to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence on July 4, 2026. He said construction would begin within two months of Dec. 31, 2025.

The broader celebration includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall, a week of parades, and athletic competitions called the Patriot Games.

Congress created its own planning body, the America250 commission, back in 2016.

Some lawmakers have raised concerns about overlap between that commission and the White House’s Freedom 250 effort.

The case now sits before a federal judge

The lawsuit is pending before a federal judge in Washington. The congressional brief adds legislative weight to the legal arguments already in play.

No construction has started as of March 2026, and the lawsuit could delay or block the project as it moves through the courts.

Trump set July 4, 2026, as the deadline for finishing the arch, a timeline the legal fight may make hard to hit.

Congress wrote the rules for D.C. monuments

Congress passed the Commemorative Works Act in 1986 to bring order to monument building in the capital.

By that point, Washington and its surroundings already had 110 monuments, memorials, and statues. The law splits the capital into three zones, the Reserve, Area I, and Area II, each with its own rules.

Area I, where Memorial Circle sits, is set aside for works of major historical and lasting importance and requires Congress to give the green light. The law exists to prevent uncontrolled building on the National Mall and nearby federal land.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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