A federal district judge on Thursday night temporarily blocked construction of a 250-foot arch President Trump plans to build near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, in the latest legal setback for one of his projects in the nation’s capital.
The ruling came shortly after the National Capital Planning Commission, made up of mostly Trump appointees, approved plans for the project. The government had wanted to start construction on the arch immediately after the panel gave its approval. Three veterans and an architectural historian were first to sue the Trump administration over the project in February. They argue the president doesn’t have the authority to plow ahead without Congress’s approval, which is required by law when building structures or new monuments on federal public land in the nation’s capital.
Earlier reporting noted: US district judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary restraining order barring the government from undertaking any construction-related work at the proposed site for 14 days while legal proceedings continue.
She said a detailed explanation of her decision would be provided in a subsequent opinion, according to CBS news.
Earlier reporting noted: A federal judge late Thursday temporarily halted the Trump administration’s plans to begin construction of president Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch in Washington, siding with Vietnam war veterans, the district of columbia and Virginia, who have challenged the project in court. Earlier reporting noted: In a separate court filing on Wednesday night, the Trump administration said a construction company might be making preliminary arrangements away from the site in anticipation of receiving the necessary permits.
Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the administration from taking any steps over the next two weeks to start work. The order gives Chutkan more time to consider whether to block construction for the duration of litigation over the project.
