But a judge could block construction
uncertain
judge → block → construction
This could be a make-or-break week for President Trump's triumphal arch.
uncertain
This → make → arch
For months, the Trump administration has barreled toward his dream of building a 250-foot arch in Washington, D.C.: rubber-stamping and side-stepping various federal reviews, cutting out Congress and announcing imminent construction despite a lack of final approval and an ongoing legal battle.
asserted
administration → barrel → approval
In May, the entirely Trump-appointed Commission for Fine Arts approved the arch's design — still incomplete at the time.
uncertain
Commission → appoint → time
In September, a federal council packed with Trump allies abruptly terminated a historic preservation review that participants had already criticized as rushed.
asserted
participants → pack → that
It all comes to a head on Thursday, when the National Capital Planning Commission will meet to consider final approval for the controversial structure.
asserted
Commission → come → structure
The arch is the only item on the agenda; the meeting will be online-only and is expected to take five hours because of the high volume of public participation.
asserted
meeting → expect → participation
Nearly 120 concerned citizens have signed up to speak, an unusually high number for such meetings and a symbol of the widespread public opposition.
asserted
citizens → sign → opposition
Democratic lawmakers, veterans, historic preservationists and more than 100,000 people have spoken out against the arch in written comments, local protests and previous commission meetings.
asserted
lawmakers → speak → comments
Among their many concerns, critics say the structure would obstruct an important view, insult service members buried on the hallowed ground of nearby Arlington National Cemetery and add a layer of risk to notoriously complicated D.C. airspace.
asserted
structure → say → airspace
They see the arch as part of Trump's unilateral effort to memorialize himself in the nation's capital.
asserted
They → see → capital
The White House has repeatedly said the arch will "enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery" and be "one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world.
asserted
arch → say → world
"
"It will be one of the great things we've ever done," Trump said from the Reflecting Pool on Monday, giving the arch — alongside several other D.C. construction projects — valuable airtime in his last in-person remarks before the midterm elections.
asserted
Trump → do → elections
The planning commission is widely expected to greenlight the arch.
asserted
commission → expect → arch
It approved preliminary site and building plans over the summer, and its new Trump-appointed chair, Mark Paoletta, expressed his enthusiastic support for the arch in an op-ed published last month.
asserted
chair → approve → ed
The administration says that after a successful commission vote, all that's needed to break ground is sign-off from its own Department of the Interior.
asserted
that → say → Interior
In fact, the government notified a federal judge late last month that, pending those two approvals, "construction could commence as early as" Thursday.
uncertain
construction → notify → Thursday
It filed that notice as part of the ongoing lawsuit brought by Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian who argue the arch is unlawful without approval from Congress.
asserted
arch → file → Congress
The Trump administration has not sought that, instead citing Congress' century-old authorization of a pair of columns on that traffic circle that were ultimately never built.
asserted
that → seek → circle
The plaintiffs promptly asked District Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a preliminary injunction before Thursday's meeting to block the administration from "taking any steps to construct, or to direct or facilitate construction, of any structure in Memorial Circle, absent congressional authorization" while the case plays out.
asserted
case → ask → authorization
A group of advocacy, historic preservation and conservation organizations quickly signed on to a supporting brief.
asserted
group → sign → brief
At a hearing last Friday, Chutkan heard from both sides and expressed skepticism about the government's sense of urgency and national security claims.
uncertain
Chutkan → hear → urgency
Then, over the weekend, D.C. and Virginia jointly filed their own lawsuit, calling the arch "flagrantly illegal" for a whole host of reasons.
asserted
D.C. → file → reasons
Chutkan has consolidated the two cases, with all eyes on her docket as Thursday's meeting ticks closer.
asserted
meeting → consolidate → docket
On Monday, the judge ordered the government to notify the court within one hour of any arch decision by the National Capital Planning Commission, National Park Service and Department of the Interior — and to provide notice within 30 minutes of "any activity related to or in preparation for the construction of an arch on Memorial Circle."
asserted
judge → order → Circle
Chutkan's order suggests she may wait to issue a ruling on construction until after the planning commission meeting, which is scheduled to adjourn at 6 p.m. ET.
uncertain
which → suggest → ET
On Tuesday, the Trump administration asked Chutkan to clarify and to modify her order to require 24 hours' notice instead, explaining that even though its staff is "working diligently (including nights and weekends) on this matter, it takes time for decisions to be communicated through the various chains and then appropriately drafted into a notice suitable for filing with the Court."
The plaintiffs responded with their own filings, opposing that request.
asserted
plaintiffs → ask → request
They compared the situation to that at D.C.'s East Potomac Park, where the government provided the judge in that case less than a full day's notice before cutting down 430 trees during a holiday weekend.
asserted
government → compare → weekend
"Indeed, Defendants recently demonstrated just how much they can change the status quo in a matter of 24 hours," the lawyers wrote.
asserted
lawyers → demonstrate → hours
The judge later clarified her wording but kept the timeline the same.
asserted
judge → clarify → timeline
Hours later, on Wednesday night, the government notified the court that Grunley Construction Company, a Maryland-based firm, "may be — but is not necessarily — arranging off-site preparations for construction mobilization in anticipation of permit approval.
uncertain
Company → notify → approval
"
How we got here — and what could happen next
uncertain
what → get → ?
The first registered speaker on the meeting agenda is plaintiff Michael Lemmon, the veteran and retired foreign service officer for whom the lawsuit is named.
asserted
lawsuit → register → whom
Lemmon has said he hopes to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery one day — but not if there's an arch.
asserted
he → say → Cemetery
"The thought of being interred in the shadow of what I believe to be a personal vanity project is profoundly disturbing to me," he wrote in a court filing in February, when the case was first filed.
asserted
case → inter → February
The arch would stand 250 feet tall in Memorial Circle, a traffic circle on the bridge that links D.C.'s National Mall to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
asserted
that → stand → Virginia
It would be more than twice the height of the nearby Lincoln Memorial and, by the National Park Service's own admission, disrupt the historical significance of dozens of nearby monuments.
asserted
It → disrupt → monuments
Renderings submitted to the planning commission show a white concrete structure topped with three golden statues, including a winged woman holding a torch with an eternal flame.
asserted
Renderings → submit → flame
That flame was one of the recommendations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which said in September that the arch would not pose a hazard to airspace as long as it is continuously lit a certain way.
asserted
it → say → airspace
Aviation safety experts told NPR that those unconventional lighting recommendations add a new layer of risk — like glare and fire hazards — to an already troubling proposal.
asserted
recommendations → tell → proposal
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
