On Tuesday, nine members of the dynastic political family filed a motion in federal court in Washington, D.C., to block the arch from being built, arguing that it would obstruct views of the family’s gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery, including that of President John F. Kennedy.
asserted
it → file → Kennedy
“This action is about protecting sacred spaces that belong to the American people,” Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy, two of the plaintiffs and children of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, said in a statement on Tuesday.
asserted
Kennedy → protect → Tuesday
“A towering arch casting shadows across the graves of our father, mother, and uncles, as well as the graves of so many who have served our country, would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles, undermining the safeguards established by our elected representatives to protect this hallowed ground for generations to come.”
asserted
who → tower → generations
The plaintiffs include the children and grandchildren of the late Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, who are among several Kennedy family members buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S.’s largest military cemetery.
asserted
who → include → Cemetery
Other Kennedys buried or memorialized there include JFK, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, their two children Patrick and Arabella, as well as Robert F. Kennedy’s wife Ethel, and Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not among the plaintiffs.
The family argued that the 250-foot arch—“more than double the size of the Lincoln Memorial and the equivalent of a twenty-five-story office building”—would obscure views of the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame and Kennedy gravesites from the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
asserted
family → bury → Bridge
It also argued that it would “cast shows over … the memorials of hundreds of thousands of fallen American heroes.
asserted
it → argue → heroes
The arch’s proposed site is located in Memorial Circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, which the family argue would obstruct “a line of sight that was designed to represent the unification of the Nation following the Civil War and that has existed for nearly a century.”
asserted
that → propose → century
“The gigantic proposed arch is an illegal interference with Arlington National Cemetery and the heroes remembered there,” attorneys Norman Eisen and Steve Jonas of Democracy Defenders Fund, which represents the family members, said.
asserted
which → propose → members
“Only Congress has the constitutional power to authorize an intrusion of this magnitude.”
asserted
Congress → have → magnitude
The Kennedy family is not the first group to mount a legal challenge against the project.
asserted
family → mount → project
Their Nov. 10 filing seeks to join a lawsuit filed last month by D.C. and Virginia, which argued that the arch violates historic preservation laws and would hinder traffic and emergency services.
asserted
arch → seek → services
It also argued that the project did not have congressional authorization.
asserted
project → argue → authorization
That lawsuit was consolidated with an earlier suit filed in February by a group of three veterans and an architectural historian.
asserted
lawsuit → consolidate → veterans
It is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee.
asserted
It → oversee → Chutkan
The Kennedys argued that courts have previously recognized families’ interests in protecting their relatives’ burial sites.
asserted
courts → argue → sites
Arlington County also filed a separate lawsuit in October, alleging that the government had failed to adequately review the project’s environmental impact, including its consequences for traffic and public safety.
asserted
government → file → traffic
The arch has faced significant backlash from Democratic lawmakers, preservationists, and the public.
asserted
arch → face → lawmakers
During a nine-hour-long public hearing on Thursday, dozens of people testified against construction of the arch.
asserted
dozens → testify → arch
Preservationists pointed to an August review by the National Park Service in which the Administration noted the arch would have an “adverse” impact on up to 42 historic sites.
asserted
arch → point → sites
But the hearing ultimately ended in the National Capital Planning Commission approving the project, and the National Park Service and Interior Department authorized construction of the arch late Thursday.
asserted
Service → end → arch
Chutkan then blocked any “construction-related activity” for 14 days.
asserted
Chutkan → block → days
The arch is one of several of Trump’s projects to remake the capital, many of which face legal challenges.
asserted
many → remake → challenges
Trump has begun building a $400 million, 90,000 sq ft White House ballroom, resurfaced the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, sought to renovate the Kennedy Center with his name on the building, and proposed redeveloping the historic East Potomac Golf Links.
asserted
Trump → begin → Links
Trump has invoked national security to justify the arch and the White House ballroom, announcing in September that he would incorporate a military complex into the proposed arch to house drones, snipers, and ammunition.
asserted
he → invoke → drones
The President has said he wants to see the arch erected before he leaves office, although the mounting legal challenges threaten that timeline.
asserted
challenges → say → timeline
In his first public appearance after Republicans’ sweeping losses in the midterm elections, Trump repeated his defense of his attention to the construction projects: “For me, it’s relaxing.”
asserted
it → repeat → me
The Aporia
