Oct. 22, 2026 at 4:07 pm Updated Oct. 22, 2026 at 4:45 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to stop the Trump administration from building a triumphal arch along the Potomac River asked a federal judge on Thursday to halt all construction plans, one day after the National Park Service signaled it would begin work Nov. 5.

The plaintiffs — three veterans and a retired architectural historian — asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to prohibit the administration and the National Park Service “from taking any steps to construct, or to direct or facilitate construction of, any structure in Memorial Circle, absent congressional authorization, during the pendency of this litigation.”

The NPS and the executive office of the president filed a notice Wednesday in the lawsuit saying they planned to possibly begin construction as early as Nov. 5, pending the approval of the construction by the National Capital Planning Commission.…