Nine Kennedys go to court to stop Trump’s arch, saying its shadow would fall across JFK’s grave

The most famous family in American politics has gone to court to keep a shadow off John F. Kennedy’s grave.

Nine Kennedys filed a motion on Tuesday, US time, to join an existing lawsuit in federal court in Washington against Donald Trump’s Independence Arch, a planned 76-metre triumphal arch on Memorial Circle, the traffic circle on Columbia Island at the Virginia end of Arlington Memorial Bridge. They attached their own complaint asking the court to set aside the project’s approval and block construction.

The nine are children and grandchildren of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, and Senator Edward Kennedy’s son: Rory, Maxwell, Christopher and Kerry Kennedy, Courtney Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, Joseph P. Kennedy III and Edward M. Kennedy Jr. They are represented by the Democracy Defenders Fund, the legal group co-founded by former Obama White House ethics adviser Norm Eisen.

“This action is about protecting sacred spaces that belong to the American people,” Rory and Maxwell Kennedy said for the family.

What would the arch do to the graves?

The family’s complaint says the arch would cast shadows over the Kennedy graves, especially in the early morning, when the family traditionally visits. It also says the structure would block the view of the graves and the Eternal Flame from Arlington Memorial Bridge, a line of sight the family chose when the president was buried.

That view is part of the design of official Washington. Arlington Memorial Bridge was built to link the Lincoln Memorial with Arlington House on the hill above the cemetery, and President Kennedy’s grave sits just below the house. The National Capital Planning Commission itself found the arch would obstruct the reciprocal views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington.

Why do they say it is illegal?

The complaint says the National Park Service and the Interior Department authorised construction on 5 November without the approval of Congress, and that the decision was “arbitrary and capricious”, the legal test for unreasonable government action. It names Mr Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, White House Domestic Policy Council director Vince Haley, the Interior Department and the Park Service.

“Only Congress has the constitutional power to authorise an intrusion of this magnitude,” Mr Eisen said.

Where does the case stand?

On 5 November the planning commission approved the final plans 8-4 after a meeting of nearly 10 hours. Less than an hour later, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day temporary restraining order stopping construction work, which runs to 19 November while she considers a longer injunction.

The attorneys-general of Washington DC and Virginia sued on 31 October, and Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian have brought a separate challenge. The administration argues the arch breaks no law and that those suing have no standing to bring the case.

Why does Trump want it?

The arch is Mr Trump’s monument to the United States’ 250th birthday. A concept drawing shows a white arch topped by a gold winged figure holding a torch, and the planning commission’s majority accepted it as a fitting way to honour veterans and the anniversary. Mr Trump wants it finished before his term ends in January 2029.