The U.S. Capitol and a model of President Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch are seen at the Great American State Fair, Friday, July 3, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A federal judge said the Trump administration must provide the court with 48 hours’ notice before engaging in any work on the Memorial Circle for the president’s proposed 250-foot arch — a day after the interior secretary announced that groundbreaking would soon begin.
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U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan’s order, signed Friday evening, applies to activity like excavation and construction, but exempts on-site information gathering to ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.
Chutkan previously ordered the National Park Service to provide the court with at least 14 days’ notice prior to “commencement of construction, or demolition in preparation for construction” while litigation challenging Trump’s plan continues in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced in an X post on Thursday — a day before Chutkan’s most recent order — that excavation work on the arch would begin over the next two weeks.
It is unclear whether Burgum’s post fulfilled the judge’s notice requirement, though Chutkan’s Friday evening order reminded the federal government that construction or demolition could not begin before NPS issues a final authorization or the government provides the 14 days’ notice.
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The arch is one of the many construction projects undertaken by Trump to renovate D.C. based on his gilded aesthetics. The arch, which has been criticized by Washingtonians and lawmakers for its scale, will be located at Memorial Circle, near Arlington National Cemetery.
Burgum has defended the arch’s construction by saying other cities around the world have these kinds of monuments, while opponents argue that the arch could obstruct D.C.’s skyline.
“This will be 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,” Burgum wrote on X Thursday.
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