Kennedys Join Lawsuit to Block Trump's Arlington Arch
Is a towering arch at Arlington an unlawful desecration of sacred graves or a fitting tribute to 250 years of American sacrifice?
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Above: A model of Trump's proposed 'Triumphal Arch' was displayed on the National Mall, Washington, D.C. on July 2. Image credit: Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Facts
- Nine members of the Kennedy family filed a motion Tuesday in federal court in Washington seeking to join litigation blocking President Donald Trump's planned 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, where relatives are buried.
- The filing says the arch, planned for Memorial Circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, would obstruct a sightline meant to represent national reunification after the Civil War and cast shadows over the graves.
- The plaintiffs are children and grandchildren of Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, among them Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy III. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not join the filing.
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The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Only Congress can authorize a monument this massive, so bulldozing ahead by executive fiat tramples the law protecting Arlington. An arch twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial would shadow graves and wreck a sightline honoring post-Civil War reunification. Sniper perches and ammunition storage have no place above a burial ground.
Pro-Trump narrative
A grand arch honoring the heroes resting at Arlington is a fitting tribute to 250 years of American sacrifice. Dragging a unifying monument into court weaponizes the judiciary and stalls a project meant to bring the country together. Beauty and reverence can share the same ground, and a magnificent gateway only elevates the memory of those who served.