Nine members of the Kennedy family asked a federal judge Tuesday to stop President Donald Trump's proposed memorial arch, arguing that the 250-foot structure would overshadow their relatives' burial sites at Arlington National Cemetery. Their request adds the family's objections to an existing legal fight over construction of the monument.
The relatives filed a motion seeking to intervene in two lawsuits already challenging the project. They contend that the shadow cast by the arch would “fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites.” Last week, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan barred the Trump administration from starting construction for 14 days.
Those seeking to join the litigation are nine children and grandchildren of Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy. Both men served in the U.S. Senate and were brothers of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated. Their graves lie near the eternal flame marking the former president's burial site.
Together, the three memorials are a major attraction for the millions of people who visit Arlington each year. In their filing, lawyers for the relatives described the proposed arch as a “permanent denigration” of the gravesites. They argued that construction would prevent family members from appreciating the sites as they previously had and as the Kennedy family had intended.
Veteran Washington lawyer Norm Eisen and Democracy Defenders Fund are representing the relatives. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who serves as Trump's health and human services secretary and has a fractured relationship with many members of his family, did not join the lawsuit. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The administration presented the project on a new website unveiled last week. Plans call for an arch featuring gold ornamentation and gray granite in the area between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Its proposed height is equivalent to 76 meters.
The arch is among several projects Trump has pursued as he reshapes Washington according to his preferences. Others include renovating one of the capital's storied public golf courses and threatening to demolish the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Those initiatives could face heightened scrutiny following this week's midterm elections, in which Democrats gained control of Congress.
