Members of the Kennedy family petitioned a court Tuesday to join a lawsuit seeking to shut down President Trump’s plans to build a “triumphal arch” near Arlington National Cemetery, saying it will ruin the site of President John F. Kennedy’s burial spot.
They said the 250-foot structure, to be built between Memorial Bridge and the cemetery, will obstruct the sightlines to the former president’s gravesite and the eternal flame that marks it, and will cast shadows over the graves of military heroes.
They sought to join a lawsuit filed by veterans who object to the arch.
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The Kennedy family members said they have a unique interest in preventing the arch, due to the burial locations of the president and his brothers, the late Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy.
“As members of the Kennedy family, intervenors have a particular interest in protecting the Kennedy gravesites,” the family said.
They included former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; former Reps. Joseph P. Kennedy II and Joseph P. Kennedy III; and relatives Edward M. Kennedy Jr., Rory Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, Christopher G. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy and Courtney Kennedy.
They are all children and grandchildren of the president or the senators.
Absent from the list is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is serving as Mr. Trump’s secretary at Health and Human Services.
Mr. Trump wants the arch to serve as a monumental gateway to the National Mall. It would be built on National Park Service land.
A planning commission gave final approval to the project last week, but a federal judge quickly issued a temporary restraining order forbidding construction.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee and frequent legal wrangler with Mr. Trump, said the administration cut too many procedural steps in rushing the arch’s approval, likely violating the Commemorative Works Act.
She had ruled in a challenge brought by Virginia and the District of Columbia. That lawsuit is in addition to the one brought by veterans.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who also gave approval to the arch on behalf of the park service, defended the massive structure as a fitting monument.
“Situated within the historic ceremonial corridor linking the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Memorial Bridge, and Arlington National Cemetery, the arch is intended to provide visitors with an additional perspective from which to appreciate the nation’s history, its monumental landscape, and the ideals that continue to guide its future,” the secretary wrote.
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