A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to provide 48 hours' notice before moving forward with work on the site of a planned 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the administration must inform the court before engaging in any activity at Memorial Circle other than on-site information gathering to identify underground cultural artifacts. Chutkan reinforced her order a day after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced plans to break ground at the site in the coming days.
The proposed arch, part of Trump's effort to reshape the national capital's landscape, faces a lawsuit filed by three veterans and a historian who oppose the project. The government argued that planned activity at the site is standard archaeological survey work involving four test pits, not construction. The project also awaits final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which would need to grant an exception to a 130-foot building height limit.