USA, federal judge blocks Arch of Triumph project in Washington wanted by Trump

A US federal judge has blocked the construction project of a giant triumphal arch in Washington wanted by President Donald Trump, shortly after the green light was given by a planning commission.

Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the US administration will not be able to start construction of the arch for the next two weeks, the time needed for the court to examine the requests challenging its legitimacy. Because of its imposing size, the arch would eventually obscure the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, where hundreds of thousands of American service members rest. Chutkan's decision came immediately after approval on Thursday evening by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which gave the project the go-ahead with eight votes in favor and four against. The plan involves the construction of an arch over 76 meters high - decidedly more imposing than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which inspired it and which reaches approximately 50 metres. Over a hundred people - including politicians, veterans and architects, often representing various organizations - expressed, almost unanimously, their opposition to the construction of the work in the heart of Washington, addressing the planning commission, notoriously close to Trump. The first to speak, Democratic congressman Jared Huffman, urged the members of the commission to "reject the final design of the monumental arch" under consideration, arguing that such construction "would dishonor America, our ideals and our laws". Some Vietnam War veterans have started legal action against the construction of this building near the Arlington military cemetery, on the other side of the bridge that leads to the Lincoln Memorial, one of the symbolic buildings of the US capital.