Judge Orders 48-Hour Notice Before Trump Can Begin Work on D.C. Arch

President Donald Trump announced that he's ready to begin construction on his proposed 250-foot "Great Triumphal Arch" in Washington, D.C., but a federal judge ruled on Friday that he must provide 48 hours notice before anything happens at the site.

U.S, District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered that Trump has to tell the court "before engaging in any activity on Memorial Circle other than on-site information gathering" aimed at identifying underground cultural artifacts, according to USA Today. The ruling was part of an ongoing lawsuit to stop construction of the president’s beloved arch.

The order came down a day after Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced on September 3 that the administration plans to break ground at the site in the coming days.

“We are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery,” he wrote in a post on X.

He continued, saying the arch would become "one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World."

Trump has long talked about his desire for the arch and has shown off various models, including a miniature version that was part of his state fair event.

“It's going to be really beautiful. I think it's going to be fantastic," Trump said in October 2025 with his models. "There's a rendering of what it will look like. You have three sizes...I happen to think the large one.”

The circle will sit at the end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Critics have argued about the arch’s size and even the National Park Service admitted the design would hurt historic sightlines throughout DC.

Trump's arch — which resembles other historic arches in major cities around the world – is one of his numerous projects aimed at changing the look of the nation's capital.

Those include his ballroom at the White House, his botched renovations of the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial, and his proposed "National Garden of American Heroes," a park where 250 statues of notable Americans are meant to be displayed.

The projects have been met with widespread criticism and legal challenges. A group of three veterans and a historian filed a lawsuit in February challenging Trump's arch.

The group behind the lawsuit requested that the judge issue a 14-day restraining order to block Trump from "taking any steps to construct or to direct or facilitate construction of any structure in Memorial Circle."

The administration argued in a court filing that the announced work at the site is typical archaeological work that would precede any new construction.

“This activity is not construction, or demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch,” the government said.