Nine members of the Kennedy family filed a petition in federal court on November 11 to join an existing lawsuit against the Trump administration's Arc de Triomphe project, aiming to block construction of the 250-foot (approximately 76-meter) tall memorial in Washington, D.C. The family members argue that the Arc de Triomphe's location near Arlington National Cemetery will obstruct the historic view of John F. Kennedy's grave and its eternal flame, and will cast shadows on family members' graves and other fallen soldiers' graves at certain times. Furthermore, they question whether the Trump administration had the authority to approve the project without congressional authorization. Previously, the governments of Washington, D.C., and Virginia, Vietnam War veterans, and historicists had filed separate lawsuits. Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan had previously ordered a 14-day halt to construction. The Trump administration maintains that Congress authorized the construction of the memorial more than a century ago when it approved the Potomac River Bridge. Whether the Kennedy family's petition will be granted, and whether the court will extend the construction injunction, remains to be decided.
