Veterans Fight to Block Trump’s Arch Excavation Near Arlington

The Trump administration says it will begin excavation work for its proposed 250-foot “Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck” within the next two weeks at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. But the project still lacks final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which does not meet again until early October, and three Vietnam War veterans are fighting in federal court to stop the work before it begins.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the excavation timeline on September 3, writing on social media that “we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck.” He called it “one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery.” The White House told NPR that “work will begin that does not require approval, but rather helps in the process,” adding that the administration would continue “seeking final approval from all applicable entities.”

Legal Challenge Escalates

Three Vietnam War veterans — Michael Lemmon, Shaun Byrnes, and Jon Gundersen — along with architectural historian Calder Loth, filed a lawsuit in February (Lemmon v. Trump) to block the arch’s construction, arguing it requires congressional authorization under the Commemorative Works Act. On September 4, the plaintiffs, represented by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, filed a motion for a 14-day temporary restraining order to prevent the administration from “taking any steps to construct or to direct or facilitate construction of any structure” on Memorial Circle.

“We have no sense of why the administration believes it’s authorized to begin work on the arch,” Nicolas Sansone, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told ABC News. “Irrespective of one’s sympathies for the president or antagonism toward the president, a system where the executive branch essentially gets to build first and answer later the question of whether that building is lawful should trouble all of us.”

In a legal filing submitted Friday afternoon, the Trump administration clarified that it intends to conduct archaeological surveys, not construction activity — involving “mechanically excavating four test pits” as a “standard predecisional, information-gathering technique.” Government lawyers said the work would begin no sooner than September 21, with any disturbed park resources restored by October 31.

Judge Imposes Notice Requirements

Late Friday evening, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the administration to provide 48 hours’ notice “before engaging in any activity on Memorial Circle other than on-site information gathering” regarding archaeological resources. This supplements an existing order requiring 14 days’ notice before any future construction or demolition work, as USA Today reported.

The judge’s order came the same day the Trump administration filed a motion to dismiss the arch lawsuit entirely, citing the Supreme Court’s August 31 ruling in the White House ballroom case. In that 5-4 decision, the high court found that the National Trust for Historic Preservation lacked standing to challenge the ballroom construction, allowing work to continue. As SCOTUSblog noted, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal justices in dissent, writing that the ballroom project is “likely unlawful” without congressional approval.

Sansone argues the ballroom ruling actually strengthens the veterans’ case, since they have a deep personal connection to Arlington National Cemetery, which they visit regularly. Their injury, he said, “is not based on the construction of something that gives them offense but rather on the destruction of a landscape that they regularly visit and that holds profound personal significance.”

Veterans Speak Out

For the veterans involved, the fight is deeply personal. Byrnes, 83, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and spent 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, told CBS News that his opposition stems from duty to fallen comrades. “It’s more about the duty I feel towards my colleagues and friends who did not come home to stand up against this project, regardless of who’s in charge,” he said. “I think it’s just disrespectful to those that I served with who didn’t come back, and then, of course, to all those who are lying in Arlington National Cemetery.”

Gundersen, 81, a retired Army Special Forces officer who helped open U.S. embassies in post-Soviet Eastern Bloc countries, drew parallels to authoritarian regimes. “We know how authoritarian dictatorships work,” he said. “There’s no rule of law, there’s no consent of the governed, and there’s monuments for the leaders there.”

The arch, which would stand more than twice the height of the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial and taller than Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, was first unveiled by Trump in October 2025 at a White House ballroom fundraising dinner. When asked who the arch was for, Trump told CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe: “Me.”

A Contentious Approval Process

The arch has faced criticism since its inception. The Commission of Fine Arts, packed with Trump appointees, gave final design approval in May despite what its own secretary described as “100% of the comments” being against the project. The NCPC gave preliminary approval in July but has not yet approved the final design, and nearly 1,700 people submitted public comments opposing the arch before the June meeting.

The National Park Service released a report in late August acknowledging the arch would disrupt the historical significance of dozens of nearby sites, as The Washington Times reported. However, the agency concluded that “the purpose and need for the undertaking require the proposed Arch to be located at Memorial Circle.”

Ed Stierli, vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, told NPR that the approval process “feels like more of a box-checking than an actual, legitimate process.”

The arch is one of several Trump administration projects reshaping Washington, D.C., including the White House ballroom, Reflecting Pool renovations, and changes at the Kennedy Center. Critics note the site, Memorial Circle, sits less than two miles from the final approach path of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Political Timing and What’s Next

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents the district where the arch would be built, told The Independent he expects Republicans to lose the House majority in the upcoming midterm elections, which may be driving the administration’s urgency. “I think Republicans expect that in nine weeks they’re going to lose the majority of the House, maybe the Senate,” Beyer said, “and that this project could be endangered by a new Democratic majority that actually stands up to Trump.”

Sansone warned that the Supreme Court’s ballroom decision has created a dangerous precedent. “The Supreme Court’s decision in the ballroom case has made clear that once construction starts, it’s very hard to walk it back,” he said.

With the earliest possible excavation date set for September 21 and the next NCPC meeting scheduled for early October, the coming weeks will be critical. The veterans’ legal team continues to press for the temporary restraining order, arguing that allowing construction to proceed before the court reaches a final judgment would render the arch “a fait accompli.” As ARTnews reported, the plaintiffs’ filing warns that permitting the administration to “blaze ahead with an unlawful course of conduct” would make it nearly impossible to reverse course later.

The dispute raises fundamental questions about executive authority, congressional oversight, and the proper process for reshaping the nation’s most sacred commemorative spaces — questions that will likely continue well beyond the current legal skirmish over excavation test pits.