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Kennedy family members seek to block construction of Trump’s arch
NBC News • • general
Key Points:
- Nine Kennedy family members have requested permission from a federal judge to join lawsuits opposing President Trump's planned 250-foot "triumphal" arch near Arlington National Cemetery, citing concerns that it would cast shadows over their relatives' graves and disrupt the sight line between the JFK Eternal Flame and the Lincoln Memorial.
- The family argues the arch violates laws protecting national memorials and undermines democratic safeguards, emphasizing their unique interest due to several Kennedys, including JFK and Robert F. Kennedy, being buried at Arlington.
- The legal battle involves prior suits from the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Vietnam War veteran Michael Lemmon, with a federal judge recently blocking construction despite approval from a Trump-aligned planning board.
- White House spokesperson Davis Ingle defended the project as a tribute to heroes buried at Arlington and criticized the Kennedy family's involvement in the litigation as politicizing a unifying national structure.
