Trump’s arch project in D.C. just got hit with a major legal setback

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day restraining order on construction.

A protest structure stands near Memorial Circle, the proposed site for a Triumphal Arch, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Arlington, Va. [Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]

A federal judge late Thursday blocked the Trump administration from breaking ground on a towering memorial arch for 14 days.The temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan halting the work represents a major setback for one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent projects in his vision to remake Washington.The decision followed a series of steps taken earlier Thursday by the government, including the final approval of the arch by the National Capital Planning Commission in an 8-4 vote after a 9 ½ hour hearing where scores of witnesses opposed the construction.The administration said the work could begin as soon as the approval and the Interior Department issued a final decision authorizing construction and the proper notification was published by the National Park Service.In approving the temporary stop, Chutkan said Virginia and the District of Columbia had shown that the immediacy of the construction would cause real harm to the plaintiffs.“The harm is certain,” she wrote. “Defendants initially notified the court that construction could begin as early as November 5, 2026, if the NCPC approves the project at its meeting that day and the Department of the Interior........

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