The Virginia County Board of Supervisors has filed a lawsuit alleging that plans for a monument near Washington, D.C., were rushed too quickly.
Published October 9, 2026
Local officials in Arlington, Virginia, have sued the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to block President Donald Trump’s proposed Arc de Triomphe.
The 250-foot-tall (76-meter) arch project could receive approval as early as next month. It is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and is planned to be built near Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington.
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The Arlington County Board of Supervisors said in Thursday’s lawsuit that the project within the busy corridor would likely cause “significant harm” to residents and require changes to nearby flight paths. It will be the first government agency to take legal action against President Trump’s planned monument.
Lawyers argue that the National Park Service failed to conduct a thorough investigation and that the arch compromises public safety by clogging roads needed for emergency transportation services.
“The National Park Service, the agency responsible for projects on national park grounds such as Memorial Circle, is moving full speed ahead with ground-disturbing construction,” the complaint says. “Although the agency claims that a final decision to build the arch has not yet been made and that it is engaged in a routine decision-making process, that rushed process appears to be a pretext designed to shore up the legitimacy of building the arch in accordance with the president’s repeated marching orders.”
The lawsuit asks that “the agency’s frenetic pace toward construction of the Arch” be halted to ensure National Environmental Policy Act requirements are followed and proper analysis and testing is conducted.
“The Arlington County Commission brought this lawsuit because our community stands to lose the most from this egregious and illegal proposed project,” Arlington County Commission Chairman Matt De Ferranti said in a statement. He added that the county acted in good faith during the review process and pointed out the “serious, unique and widespread adverse impacts” the project would have on the county and its residents, but those were ignored.
The Home Office sent a short statement via email: “The Home Office continues to comply with all laws and regulations.” The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The proposed arches will be installed within the airport’s main approach and departure corridors. Federal Aviation Administration safety decisions require pilots to mark the top of the arch with a visible flame and install a floodlight. Some aviation experts have expressed safety concerns because of its proximity to the airport’s main approach and departure corridors.
The FAA has rescinded an earlier requirement for red obstruction lights, which it typically mandates on buildings over 200 feet (61 meters) near airports, such as the nearby 169-meter (554-foot) Washington Monument.
The arch is part of President Trump’s broader push to rebuild Washington, which includes renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, redeveloping the East Potomac Park golf course and adding his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Preservationists say the project will alter some of the capital’s most prominent historic buildings.
The arch has received early approval from the American Board of Fine Arts, all of whose members were appointed by President Trump, but a group of three military veterans and an architectural historian filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., arguing that the project still requires approval from Congress. The judge in the case said the administration must give the court 48 hours before starting any activities or preparations related to the construction of the arch.
President Trump said last month that he would turn the Arch into a military complex that could deploy drones and deploy snipers.
