Opposition to Trump's Arc de Triomphe grows stronger, with Kennedy family appealing for cancellation - U.S. capital

[Washington Current Affairs] Administrative procedures necessary for the construction of the Arc de Triomphe, which is at the heart of US President Donald Trump, were completed this month. However, the construction plan, which would be located near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, where war dead are buried, faces strong opposition. A federal district court has ordered a halt to construction work, and relatives of former President Kennedy, whose grave is located in the cemetery, have announced their intention to join the lawsuit seeking to stop the project.

[Photo] A rendering of the completed Arc de Triomphe released by the Trump administration

In October 2025, Trump announced plans to build a gate at the roundabout between Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in the heart of the nation's capital to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary. At approximately 76 meters high, it is a structure larger than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. On the 5th of this month, the capital's urban planning committee approved the plan, and construction is now ready to begin.

However, there were concerns from the beginning that the plan would harm the landscape, and there was also criticism that the plan would look down on the war cemetery, desecrating its sanctity. In February 2026, Vietnam War veterans filed a lawsuit claiming that construction without Congressional approval was illegal. The city of Washington and the government of neighboring Virginia also filed suit.

On the 5th of this month, a federal district court in the nation's capital issued an order halting construction for two weeks immediately after the commission approved the plan. On the 10th, nine relatives of former President Kennedy announced their participation in the lawsuit, alleging that the gate's shadow would overshadow their family's grave. "The towering gate casts a shadow over the graves of many who served our country and over the principles of democracy," he said. The district court is expected to decide whether to continue the injunction by the end of the month, leaving the future of construction unclear.