Trump's arch may break ground without final approval.
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arch → break → approval
Veterans are trying to stop it
The Trump administration plans to break ground on its proposed 250-foot arch near Washington, D.C.'s National Mall in the coming days, without key approvals and despite an ongoing lawsuit.
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administration → try → lawsuit
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote on social media Thursday 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."
But the arch is still awaiting final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, as well as federally mandated reviews regarding aviation safety and historic preservation.
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arch → write → safety
Historic preservation experts have long criticized the Trump administration for seeming to rush the arch approval process, including by moving to weaken protections for historic sites altogether.
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experts → criticize → sites
This latest development raises concerns that the White House seeks to sidestep the process, which it denies.
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it → raise → which
"Work will begin that does not require approval, but rather helps in the process," the White House told NPR in a statement on Friday.
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House → begin → Friday
"We will of course continue on our path of seeking final approval from all applicable entities."
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We → continue → entities
The White House, Department of the Interior and National Park Service did not respond to NPR's questions about the timeline and extent of the excavations or the addition of the word "military" to the structure's title.
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House → respond → title
President Trump told journalists last year that the arch is for "me."
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arch → tell → me
But since then, the administration has said the arch is intended to honor the nation's 250th anniversary.
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arch → say → anniversary
"This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World," Burgum posted this week, alongside renderings of the white-and-gold structure, topped with three large gilded statues.
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Burgum → honor → statues
The arch has been controversial since its inception, greenlit by federal panels packed with Trump allies despite unanswered questions, thousands of overwhelmingly negative public comments and an ongoing lawsuit.
An architectural historian and three Vietnam War veterans, working with the nonprofit Public Citizen, sued to stop construction
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historian → greenlit → Citizen
They argue the arch would desecrate Arlington National Cemetery and requires congressional approval, which Trump denies and has not sought.
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Trump → argue → which
On Friday, those plaintiffs asked the judge for a 14-day restraining order to prevent the Trump administration from "from taking any steps to construct or to direct or facilitate construction of any structure" on Memorial Circle, the traffic island on the historic bridge connecting D.C. to Arlington, Va.
"We have no sense of why the administration believes it's authorized to begin work on the arch," Nicolas Sansone, the attorney leading the case, told NPR on Friday.
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Sansone → ask → Friday
He said any kind of preparatory work at Memorial Circle is "premature and has no legal basis."
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kind → say → basis
While the Trump administration disputes the need for congressional approval, he said, it has acknowledged the authority of the federal planning commission — which hasn't approved the arch and doesn't meet again until early October.
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which → dispute → October
"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," Sansone said.
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Sansone → get → us
In a legal filing submitted Friday afternoon, the Trump administration clarified that it intends to conduct archaeological surveys, not construction activity.
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it → submit → surveys
Administration lawyers said that involves "mechanically excavating four test pits" to observe aspects of the soil and recover potential artifacts, calling it a "standard predecisional, information-gathering technique."
Government lawyers said that activity will begin no sooner than Sept. 21, and "any park resources disturbed by the activity, including any disturbed grass, will be restored" by Oct. 31.
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resources → say → Oct.
A political clock is ticking
The arch would stand smack-dab between the nation's most prominent military cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, of which it would be more than twice the height.
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it → tick → which
Critics have a long list of concerns with the project, ranging from the financial cost to the impact on nearby funeral processions to questions of vehicle, pedestrian and aviation safety.
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Critics → have → safety
"I have not met a single constituent in my inside-the-Beltway district, Democrat or Republican, who wants this arch," Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., told NPR on Friday, calling it "an illegal, gridlock-increasing, narcissistic arch."
One of the most-repeated criticisms is that the arch would disrupt the iconic and symbolically important view between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, which was designed to represent post-Civil War reconciliation.
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which → meet → reconciliation
Opponents say a structure this size would violate D.C.'s longstanding height limits and reshape its carefully planned skyline.
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structure → say → skyline
On the latter, the Trump administration agrees: The National Park Service released a report last week confirming that the arch would disrupt the historical significance of dozens of nearby sites.
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arch → agree → sites
Even so, the agency said the "purpose and need for the undertaking require the proposed Arch to be located at Memorial Circle," dashing some critics' hopes that it could be moved elsewhere in the city.
Lawyers and historic preservation advocates are particularly concerned about how quickly the arch has been reviewed and preliminarily approved, even before Burgum's announcement.
Ed Stierli, the vice president of government affairs at the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association, told NPR last month that "it feels like more of a box-checking than an actual, legitimate process."
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it → say → process
Beyer said he was disappointed by Thursday's news, but not surprised, given the impending midterm elections.
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he → say → elections
"I think Republicans expect that in nine weeks they're going to lose the majority of the House, maybe the Senate, and that this project could be endangered by a new Democratic majority that actually stands up to Trump," he said.
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he → think → Trump
For now, Beyer said, the best chance of halting construction likely lies with the Vietnam veterans' lawsuit.
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chance → say → lawsuit
And that legal fight is now escalating.
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fight → escalate → ?
On Thursday, the same day as Burgum's announcement, the Trump administration filed a motion seeking to have the case against the arch dismissed
The administration specifically cited the Supreme Court ruling this week over the White House ballroom.
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administration → file → ballroom
The Supreme Court said that the historic preservation group that brought the ballroom lawsuit didn't have standing to do so.
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that → say → standing
It allowed construction to continue without ruling on the project's underlying legality — though Chief Justice John Roberts, joining liberal justices in a dissent, wrote that it is likely unlawful without congressional approval.
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it → allow → approval
The government's lawyers argue that the arch case should be dismissed on the same grounds as the ballroom case: "Plaintiffs' distaste for the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury."
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distaste → argue → injury
Sansone, of Public Citizen, said the Supreme Court ruling actually strengthens his clients' case, because they have "attested to far more than mere offense at the government's action."
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they → say → action
The veterans have a deep personal connection to Arlington National Cemetery, which they visit regularly, he said.
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he → have → which
And he added that the legal issues have been in front of a judge for months already.
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issues → add → months
"There's no real exigency for the government to proceed with construction of what it acknowledges is nothing more than a commemorative monument," Sansone said.
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Sansone → be → monument
"And so the announcement that work is about to proceed is really sort of running out ahead of the legal process."
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work → proceed → process
Sansone sees Burgum's announcement as a sign that the government wants to proceed "come hell or high water," to the point where — as with the demolition of the White House East Wing — there isn't any practical relief a court can offer.
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court → see → Wing
"The Supreme Court's decision in the ballroom case has made clear that once construction starts, it's very hard to walk it back," Sansone said.
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Sansone → make → it
…and 2 more, not listed.
