A federal judge has stopped President Donald Trump from starting work on his planned 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington for 14 days, less than two hours after a federal planning panel gave the project its final approval late on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary restraining order barring any construction, excavation, demolition or road closures at Memorial Circle, at the Virginia end of Arlington Memorial Bridge. In a 33-page opinion she found Congress never authorized the arch, and that the District of Columbia and Virginia, which sued on October 31, are likely to win. Hours earlier the National Capital Planning Commission had approved the arch 8 to 4 after about nine hours of testimony, with more than 100 people speaking against it.
Memorial Circle sits at the Virginia end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, the ceremonial route between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, which is why the site drew such strong feelings at Thursday’s hearing. The administration told the court it could begin work immediately after the panel’s approval, starting with six to eight months of digging and foundation work running 20 hours a day, with building above ground from May 2027 at the earliest and the whole job taking about three years. The Justice Department also told the court a contractor had already done site preparation work at the circle on October 31, apparently without Park Service authorization. Judge Chutkan’s order requires the government to update the court by November 9 on its efforts to notify everyone covered, and to confirm in writing that it is complying.
Full story: https://zarknews.com/judge-blocks-trump-memorial-arch-14-days/
Sources: Associated Press, CNN, USA Today, NPR, court filings • Nov 7, 2026 • Photo: C5karl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
