Judge Tanya Chutkan Blocks Trump’s 250-Foot Arch Hours After Planning Panel Approves It

A federal judge temporarily blocked construction of President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch early Friday, hours after a federal planning panel gave the project final approval.

The National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 Thursday night to approve the arch planned for Memorial Circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, Fox News and CBS News reported.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan then issued a 14-day temporary restraining order barring “construction-related activity,” including excavation, demolition, utility work and roadway closures, according to CBS News and NPR.

Chutkan granted relief sought by the District of Columbia and Virginia, in cases consolidated with a suit by Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian, Fox News reported.

In a 33-page ruling, she wrote that plaintiffs are likely to show the government skipped required legal processes and that Virginia and D.C. face “tangible economic harms” from traffic disruption at the site, CBS News reported.

NCPC Chairman Mark Paoletta, also OMB general counsel, backed the design during the nearly nine-hour hearing. “President Trump understands as president and a superb builder that it’s important to our national identity to display who we are through grand monuments,” he said, per Fox News.

The granite-clad arch, inspired by Paris’s Arc de Triomphe and topped with three gilded figures, would reach about 250 feet overall, commission documents cited by CBS News show.

Critics, including veterans and lawmakers, say it would disrupt sight lines to the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington and may require congressional authorization the administration has not secured.

Marine veteran Jimi Shaughnessy told the commission a “dominating arch with a carnival-like atmosphere” would be “abhorrent and insulting” to the fallen, CBS News reported.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) called the project “illegal” and said it would “disrupt the solemn connection” between the memorials, according to that coverage.

The Justice Department had indicated work could begin as soon as Thursday once permits cleared; Chutkan had ordered one-hour notice of any NCPC vote and 30-minute notice before construction prep so she could act, CBS News reported.

The Associated Press likewise reported the federal judge’s 14-day delay after the panel’s approval.

Trump has previously described a military-capable complex with drones and sniper positions; NCPC documents reviewed by CBS did not include that military use, and DOJ lawyers declined to detail national-security features in an October hearing.

The TRO freezes groundbreaking for two weeks while litigation continues — a rapid court check on a project the administration wanted to start immediately after the commission’s green light.

The commission received more than 1,300 public comments, most opposed, CBS News reported, after nearly nine hours of testimony from veterans, architects, residents and members of Congress.

Builders estimate a multi-year construction timeline and visitor traffic that could range from thousands to more than 20,000 people a day if the arch ultimately proceeds after the court fight.

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