Nine members of the Kennedy family said Tuesday they are seeking to join a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s plan to build a triumphal arch in Washington, D.C. They argue the project would violate federal protections and damage historic views of graves and memorials at Arlington National Cemetery.
The family members are Rory, Maxwell, Christopher G., Kerry and Courtney Kennedy; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Joseph P. Kennedy II; Joseph P. Kennedy III; and Edward M. Kennedy Jr. The first seven are children of Robert F. and Ethel Kennedy, Kennedy III is their grandson, and Edward Jr. is the son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
In a statement, Rory and Maxwell Kennedy said the lawsuit aims to protect Arlington as a place of national significance. Their parents, they noted, are buried there, along with their uncles President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Their uncle Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., who died while serving in World War II, is also memorialized at the cemetery.
The siblings said more than 400,000 veterans and family members are buried or honored at Arlington. They accused Trump of disregarding laws and procedures Congress established to protect the site, and said the lawsuit speaks for people who cannot defend the cemetery themselves.
They also argued that a 250-foot arch could cast shadows over graves and disrupt the views visitors come to Arlington to experience. In their view, the project would threaten not only the cemetery’s physical setting but also the principles and protections meant to preserve it.
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking the administration from starting construction. The order came hours after a federal planning commission approved the project.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Wednesday that the administration was disappointed some Kennedy family members had joined the lawsuit. He described the arch as a tribute to those buried at Arlington and said the courts should not be used to politicize a monument intended to bring the country together. The administration, he added, would continue defending the project and expected to prevail.
Trump has also said the arch could serve military purposes. In a Sept. 20 social media post, he said that, at the military’s request and for national security, the planned structure would be adapted to store and deploy drones, position snipers on its roof and plaza, and hold sniper ammunition.
