Nine members of the Kennedy family filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to block President Trump's planned 250-foot arch in Washington, saying it would obstruct family gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery, including the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame, NPR reported.
"A towering arch casting shadows across the graves of our father, mother, and uncles, as well as the graves of so many who have served our country, would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles," Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy said in a statement on behalf of the family. The plaintiffs include children of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy and a son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, all three of whom are buried at Arlington. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not join his siblings in the suit against his own administration.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told NPR: "It is unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the Arch as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery. We will continue making the case for this beautiful and fitting monument and are confident we will be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds."
Max Kennedy told NPR's All Things Considered on Wednesday that the family is acting to protect the cemetery from "the arbitrary, capricious vanity of one man." "If this is a great idea, then bring it before Congress, follow the rules and get it approved," he said. The 27-page filing, made hours before Veterans Day, seeks to join an existing federal case that already combines a suit by Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian with another filed by the governments of D.C. and Virginia. The Arlington County Board has also sued in Virginia state court.
A two-week pause, and a fight over views and shadows
The National Capital Planning Commission gave the project a final green light on Thursday, and officials had previously said they could break ground in Memorial Circle that same day, NPR reported. Within moments of the late-night approval, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order blocking construction for two weeks while she evaluates the broader challenges. A central argument is that the work is unlawful without congressional approval, which the administration has not sought. The administration says the arch is justified by a century-old authorization of two never-built columns at the same site. Chutkan wrote last week that "merely to state this argument is to reveal its flaws."
The administration has also argued that the plaintiffs lack standing, the Supreme Court's reasoning in the White House ballroom case. Chutkan has said D.C. and Virginia likely have standing because of financial and logistical harms. Georgetown law professor David Super told NPR the Kennedys' involvement only strengthens standing, because a judge might be "uncomfortable denigrating their concerns over their family graves."
The cemetery says JFK's gravesite is one of its two most-visited locations, along with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The filing recounts that Kennedy once stood at the spot and said, "I could stay here forever," and that the family was "assured that all aspects of the design would safeguard visibility of the Eternal Flame" from the Memorial Bridge. The Kennedys say the arch would block those views. They also cite a Washington Post forensic analysis showing the structure would cast shadows over tens of thousands of graves, darken JFK's memorial on 50 days of the year, and briefly block the eternal flame on almost half of those days. The administration has said the arch would have its own eternal flame, per FAA lighting recommendations, and that building it anywhere else would defeat its purpose. Those claims are now before the court, not findings. How Congress may also try to restrict the project is covered in separate reporting.