U.S. President Donald Trump holds models of an arch as he delivers remarks during a ballroom fundraising dinner in the East Room of the White House on October 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump’s planned Triumphal Arch faces a new lawsuit from the Arlington County Board in Virginia, according to the Associated Press.
The board became the first governmental body to take legal action against the monument when it filed the lawsuit Thursday.
What we know:
Filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, the suit criticized the speed at which the project has moved without going through the full review process.
"The National Park Service, the agency responsible for projects on national park land such as Memorial Circle, is proceeding full-speed toward ground-disturbing construction," court documents obtained by the AP state. "Although the agency has claimed that a final decision to construct the Arch has not yet been made and purports to be engaged in a routine decisional process, that rushed process appears to be a pretext designed to shore up justifications for building the Arch in accordance with the President’s repeated marching orders."
The lawsuit is asking the court to halt "the agency's feverish pace toward construction of the arch" to make sure requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act can be followed and proper analysis and testing be done.
What they're saying:
"The Arlington County Board has filed this lawsuit because our community has the most to lose from this egregious and unlawful proposed project," Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a statement to the AP. The county has pointed out "severe, unique, and wide-ranging negative impacts" the project will have on the county and its residents, de Ferranti said, adding that those concerns have been ignored.
The backstory:
Memorial Circle sits on federal parkland west of the Potomac River across the Memorial Bridge. Its location is immediately adjacent to Arlington County.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all chosen by Trump, gave the plan early approval. But three veterans and an architectural historian sued in federal court, claiming the project needs to be approved by Congress.
The judge in that case ordered the Trump administration to give the court 48 hours notice before it begins any activities associated with construction.
The other side:
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the Trump administration and the White House have been "fastidiously compliant with all procedural and legal requirements and are certain this meritless and dilatory lawsuit will be dismissed."
He said he expects the arch to become one of the world’s most iconic landmarks.
"It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike," Ingle said.
Dig deeper:
The county filed the suit a day after Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson raised concerns that the 250-foot arch makes worse multiple safety issues that she claims have not been addressed since a January 2025 crash over the Potomac River.
"We lost 67 crew and passengers in the deadliest U.S. commercial aviation accident in decades. Congress has failed to act. DCA is already stretched to its limit, we do not need an obstacle taking up space in our flight path," Nelson said in a statement. "Nor should commercial aviation have to dodge military drones, missiles, or snipers while attempting to take off or land at Washington National Airport. Safety first always."
The Source: Information from this story came from the Associated Press, FOX5DC and previous FOX News reporting. This story was reported from Orlando.