Judge sets strict time limits for Trump arch construction approval

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order on Monday that adds specific time constraints to the process of building a memorial arch in Washington, D.C.

The ruling requires the government to inform the court within one hour of any decision made by the National Capital Planning Commission. The same one-hour deadline applies to decisions from the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior.

These agencies are part of the approval process the administration outlined in a court notice filed on Oct. 28. That filing stated that construction could begin once the Planning Commission approved the project, the Interior Department issued a final decision, and proper notification was published. The government indicated that the Park Service might publish that notice as early as Nov. 5, allowing construction to start on the same day.

Chutkan, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, also mandated that defendants provide notice within thirty minutes of any activity related to preparing for the arch's construction on Memorial Circle. She warned that any construction or demolition before the Park Service issued final agency action, or without fourteen days' prior notice, would violate previous court orders.

This order follows a period of intense legal activity over the preceding weekend. Chutkan was already considering a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by three Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian. Separately, the District of Columbia and Virginia filed their own lawsuit opposing the construction and seeking a temporary restraining order. The judge has now consolidated these cases and established a joint briefing schedule, suggesting her decision may hinge on the upcoming Planning Commission meeting.

The project under review was detailed in a 106-page plan submitted by the government on Friday. The design envisions a structure more than 12 stories high. It features a large bronze statue of Lady Liberty with wings and a torch holding an eternal flame. The arch includes an observation deck with views to the east and west, an occupied roof, and two mezzanines.

Inside the structure, the plan calls for program spaces, offices, a staff lounge, circular staircases, multiple elevators, and a fire command center. The project proposes major traffic changes in the area, including rerouting vehicles on nearby roads. Administration officials stated that the arch will also serve a national security function.

During a hearing on Oct. 30, Chutkan questioned the urgency of the project. She asked how the government would be harmed if she issued a preliminary injunction, noting the harm might be limited to the executive's desire to bedazzle the city. Robert Stander, an administration lawyer, responded that the arch was an absolute high priority and that a judicial intervention would impede the work of the government.

The arch is one of several projects undertaken by President Donald Trump to remodel the capital, ranging from renovating a historic public golf course to threatening demolition of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Charles A. Birnbaum, the founding president and CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, said the new order sends a clear message to the administration. He stated, "The administration is learning they cannot ignore the judiciary in the way they’ve ignored the public."