Kennedy family joins lawsuit to block Trump’s arch

One of America’s most storied political dynasties — the Kennedy family — is joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block construction of the president’s 250-foot triumphal arch.

Nine members of the Kennedy family filed a motion Tuesday in federal court in DC, to stop the arch from being built, arguing in part that it obstructs views of the family’s gravesites in Arlington National Cemetery.

“President Donald J. Trump is attempting to unlawfully erect a massive arch that will permanently cast shadows over and damage historically significant sightlines to the existing gravesites and memorials established in the Kennedy family’s honor at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as to the memorials of hundreds of thousands of fallen American heroes,” the family wrote in the filing.

Trump has previously said he intends to complete the arch before he leaves office in two years, but the aggressive timeline has been complicated by legal challenges, including another high-profile lawsuit brought by veterans and preservationists.

The Kennedy family joins other opponents who say the enormous scale of the arch and the location would disrupt the sightline of the row of national landmarks that includes the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington House and the Robert E. Lee Memorial, and that the towering monument will break the solemnity of funerals of Arlington National Cemetery.

“The gigantic proposed arch is an illegal interference with Arlington National Cemetery and the heroes remembered there, including at the gravesites and memorials of the Kennedy brothers and Ethel Kennedy. Only Congress has the constitutional power to authorize an intrusion of this magnitude,” said Norman Eisen and Steve Jonas of Democracy Defenders Fund, who are representing the Kennedy family members. “Today, members of the Kennedy family are joining with the other litigants in this case to protect this historic site–and to defend the rule of law and separation of powers.”

Members of the Kennedy family who are buried at Arlington National Cemetery include President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel Kennedy, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

This is a developing story and will be updated.