The administration is seeking to render the project a “fait accompli” by moving quickly, the veterans’ lawyers argued Friday.
Read more Melania Trump will not attend the Republican midterm convention
Three Vietnam War veterans on Friday asked a federal judge to prevent work from starting on President Donald Trump’s planned arch, warning that the administration is seeking to outrace federal courts on the project.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan should issue a temporary restraining order to block newly announced work, the veterans’ lawyers wrote in an emergency filing, noting that Trump’s planned 250-foot-tall arch has not been authorized by Congress and is still undergoing federal reviews.
They also said the Trump administration is seeking to render the project “a fait accompli,” citing the administration’s legal arguments regarding Trump’s proposed White House ballroom that courts could not stop the project because too much work had already been done.
The veterans, who first sued in February to block the arch, have warned it would harm their experience of visiting nearby Arlington National Cemetery. They are represented by Public Citizen, a government watchdog organization.
Trump administration lawyers had previously argued that the project should not be halted because it has not officially begun.
Read more Maria Bartiromo’s attorney denies reports she was fired from Fox News
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday said that the administration will start excavation work on the arch within the next two weeks, kicking off an aggressive timeline to build the arch within the next two to three years.
Administration lawyers asked Chutkan on Thursday to throw out the veterans’ challenge to the arch, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling this week on Trump’s ballroom as precedent. In a 5-4 decision, the court’s conservative majority ruled that historic preservationists who sued to stop the ballroom could not prove that they had been directly harmed by the project.
The veterans’ feelings on “the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury,” Justice Department lawyers wrote Thursday.
Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. Sign up for The 7 newsletter.
Read more Prosecutors will not seek to hold ICE agent charged with lying about Minneapolis shooting
