Washington (United States) (AFP) – An American federal judge blocked during the night from Thursday to Friday the construction project in Washington of a gigantic triumphal arch wanted by President Donald Trump and the subject of multiple challenges, shortly after the green light granted by a planning commission.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 11:18

With its imposing dimensions, the arch would hide the perspective between the Lincoln Memorial, one of the emblematic monuments of Washington, and the Arlington National Cemetery, where hundreds of thousands of American soldiers rest.

District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the Trump administration cannot begin construction of the arch for two weeks while the court considers motions challenging the legality of the project.

The announcement of the decision came shortly after the green light was given by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which approved the project by a vote of eight to four on Thursday evening.

This provides for the construction of an arch which must exceed 76 meters high, significantly more than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris from which it is inspired, which stands at around fifty meters.

More than a hundred people - elected officials, veterans, architects - often representing organizations, expressed one after the other almost unanimously their opposition to the construction of this triumphal arch in the heart of Washington to this urban planning commission won over by Donald Trump.

The first to speak, Democratic MP Jared Huffman, "urged" his members "to reject the final project for a monumental arch that you are examining today" on Thursday, which "would dishonor America, our ideals and our laws."

A legal request against the construction of this building near the Arlington military cemetery, at the other end of the bridge which leads to the Lincoln Memorial, one of the emblematic buildings of the American capital, was initiated by veterans of the Vietnam War.

“Historical monument”

The four members of the commission who voted against had requested, without success, the postponement of the decision, highlighting in particular the existence of legal obstacles and the absence of budgetary approval by Congress to finance the project.

But the majority of members rejected the postponement, with one of them observing that “the project promoter wants a decision this (Thursday) evening”.

The Trump administration has said work is expected to begin immediately upon commission approval, subject to any last-minute judicial intervention.

Since his return to the White House in January 2025, Donald Trump has multiplied construction and renovation projects with the desire to leave his mark on Washington, which has led to a series of appeals to the courts.

Among them, the pharaonic and expensive ballroom that he had built at the White House, at the cost of bulldozing an entire wing of the presidential residence, or the Kennedy Center performance hall, closed since mid-September and on which he demanded to have his name affixed.

Recently, the creation of a new golf course on the banks of the Potomac was added, in place of an already existing course, for which hundreds of trees were felled. Also in this matter, Mr. Trump announced that he wanted to launch the work in mid-November, despite ongoing legal litigation.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump signed a text classifying the Oval Office of the White House as a “historic monument”.

© 2026 AFP

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