Federal judge halts construction of Trump's proposed Arlington triumphal arch hours after commission approval

A federal judge in Washington moved early Friday to temporarily stop the Trump administration from beginning construction on President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch in the nation's capital, acting only hours after a federal planning commission signed off on the project.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted a 14-day temporary restraining order that bars any groundbreaking on the planned monument while legal challenges proceed.

Chutkan sided with plaintiffs contesting the project in lawsuits filed by the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Those cases had been consolidated with an earlier suit filed by a group of Vietnam veterans together with an architectural historian.

The court's intervention came shortly after the National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 on Thursday to approve the project, a decision that had cleared the path for construction to begin.

The approved design calls for a 250-foot-tall structure modeled on Paris' Arc de Triomphe. Supporters envision it drawing visitors as they cross the Memorial Bridge from Arlington National Cemetery into Washington.

Mark Paoletta, the commission's Trump-appointed chairman, voiced strong backing for the monument during the panel's meeting. "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," Paoletta said.

Paoletta, who also serves as general counsel for the White House Office of Management and Budget, noted the president's admiration for monumental arches abroad. "As Trump has often remarked, the great cities around the world have arches: Paris, Rome, London," he said.

Under the approved plans, the structure would be clad in granite and crowned with three golden statues. Trump has previously said the arch would be converted into a military complex able to rapidly deploy large numbers of drones, with snipers stationed on its roof and plaza areas, and that it would store "large quantities of sniper ammunition."

The proposal has met resistance from preservationists, lawmakers and veterans, who warn it could mar sightlines to the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Critics have also raised questions about whether federal law requires congressional approval before the project can move forward.

The planning commission had previously approved both the site and preliminary plans for the arch. The restraining order now leaves the project's immediate future in the hands of the court as the consolidated lawsuits play out.