Kennedy Family Joins Lawsuit to Block Trump's Triumphal Arch

Nine members of the prominent Kennedy political dynasty have intervened in a federal lawsuit to halt President Donald Trump's plans to construct a massive 250-foot (76-meter) triumphal arch in the nation's capital.

The group, which includes children and grandchildren of the late Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, filed a legal complaint on Tuesday arguing that the granite and gold-ornamented structure would obstruct views of their relatives' gravesites and the Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Trump appointee who is estranged from many relatives, did not join the litigation.

The plaintiffs contend that the proposed megastructure would "fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites" and act as a "permanent denigration" of the final resting place for hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans. Furthermore, the filing claims that the monument would destroy the historic, century-old sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House across the Memorial Bridge.

The Kennedy family is joining an existing roster of litigants seeking to block the project, including the states of Virginia and Washington, DC, as well as Arlington County, veterans, and local preservationists.

The legal challenge hinges partly on executive authority. The plaintiffs argue that the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior authorized construction without necessary congressional approval. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day pause prohibiting the Trump administration from breaking ground on the project while litigation proceeds.

White House spokesman Davis R. Ingle criticized the intervention in a statement to the BBC:

"The judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation. We will continue making the case for this beautiful and fitting monument and are confident we will be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds."