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Nine descendants of Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy filed a motion to intervene Tuesday in lawsuits seeking to stop construction of a 250-foot triumphal arch proposed by President Donald Trump at Memorial Circle between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The family told the U.S. District Court in Washington that the structure would block designed sightlines from the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Kennedy gravesites and the eternal flame while permanently casting shadows over the burials of family members and fellow veterans. Court documents describe the arch as more than double the height of the Lincoln Memorial and equivalent to a 25-story building whose placement would disrupt a historic axis established nearly a century ago.
The motion states that the project would destroy an essential element of the gravesites’ design and constitute a permanent denigration of the Kennedy burials that include those of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Edward M. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. A forensic study referenced in the filing concluded the arch would cast shadows across the locations, fundamentally altering the experience of visiting what was intended as a solemn memorial. The plaintiffs argued that the Trump administration had raced forward without adequate legal authority or congressional approval for the construction.
Rory Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy and six other relatives are listed as plaintiffs in the intervention, which joins challenges brought by the District of Columbia, Virginia and Vietnam War veterans, according to the filings. The family members stressed that the view from the graves toward Washington has provided comfort during private visits, a perspective that the looming structure would eliminate. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who serves as Trump’s health and human services secretary, is not among those joining the lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan temporarily halted groundbreaking for 14 days after the National Capital Planning Commission granted approval on November 5, records from the related cases show. The Kennedys’ legal team, led by Norman Eisen and Steve Jonas of the Democracy Defenders Fund, described the arch as an illegal interference with the protected grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Their filing expands on earlier complaints by detailing the personal and historical harm to the Kennedy memorials specifically.
Arlington National Cemetery officials report that more than three million people visit the site annually, with the Kennedy graves and eternal flame serving as a major draw since the permanent memorial was completed in 1967. The eternal flame, lit by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at the original 1963 funeral, replaced a temporary version after crowds reached 50,000 visitors on some weekend days in the first year. The family motion notes that the proposed arch would obstruct the very vista that has drawn those visitors for decades.
Kerry Kennedy said vanity should never stand in the way of valor in a statement issued after the filing. Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Taylor Kennedy added that a towering arch casting shadows across the graves of their parents and uncles as well as so many who served the country would also cast a shadow over democratic principles. The relatives emphasized that the cemetery’s safeguards were established by elected representatives to protect the ground for generations.
The arch ranks among several projects the administration has advanced to leave a lasting mark on the capital, with the president championing it as a monument to American achievement, according to details released with the plans. Elements including golden angels and a symbolic flame were incorporated into early renderings of the design. The Kennedy family motion asks the court to convert the temporary block into a permanent injunction to preserve the unimpeded integrity of the gravesites.
