Oct. 30 (UPI) — The Department of Justice and some Vietnam War veterans are heading to court Friday for an emergency hearing on the 250-foot arch that President Donald Trump wants to build in Washington, D.C.
The plaintiffs, two veterans and a historian, will argue before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that the project is rushed and doesn’t have approval from Congress. Chutkan has already ordered the federal government to give 48 hours of advance notice before beginning work.
Construction on the arch could begin as soon as Nov. 5, according to court filings. Excavation work began in September.
The plaintiffs have asked Chutkan to block the project before construction begins because the administration will likely begin work “in the hope that they can render the arch a fait accompli before this Court has made a final determination.”
The plaintiffs also argue that the arch would disrupt the connection between the Lincoln Memorial and the Robert E. Lee Memorial, which was intended to show unity after the Civil War.
Shaun Byrnes, a plaintiff in the case, told CBS News earlier this year that his opposition was “more about the duty I feel towards my colleagues and friends who did not come home to stand up against this project, regardless of who’s in charge.”
“I think it’s just disrespectful to those that I served with who didn’t come back, and then, of course, to all those who are lying in Arlington National Cemetery,” Byrnes told CBS.
The Justice Department called the plaintiffs’ motions “breathless” and said that Chutkan should follow recent Supreme Court precedent in the White House ballroom case. They also argue that the plaintiffs don’t have legal standing to bring the case.
“Plaintiffs lack standing because their aesthetic and emotional displeasure at the perceived symbolism of the proposed arch does not establish a concrete and particularized injury under the Supreme Court’s controlling decision [in the White House ballroom case],” the department argued.
In September, Trump said the arch would be a “top grade Military Complex,” with snipers and drones.
The Justice Department said that the first six months of construction wouldn’t interfere with the claims of “irreparable harm” because it would be mostly below ground, foundational work.
The administration also submitted statements from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. They said the arch would allow the military and Secret Service to use the arch to defend the nation’s capital against unmanned drone attacks and other potential threats. Hegseth said the arch “is a generational national defense opportunity.”
Arlington County, Va., also filed a lawsuit this month, saying that the administration bypassed environmental reviews.