Kennedys file lawsuit to block Trump’s arch over impact on family’s graves

Posted November 11, 2026 4:32 pm

Updated November 11, 2026 4:34 pm

2 min read

Nine members of the Kennedy family asked a U.S. judge earlier this week to block President Donald Trump’s plans to build a 250ft tall memorial arch, arguing that the structure would cast a shadow over their relatives’ burial site at Arlington National Cemetery.

The arch, the relatives argued, would “fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites,” and suggested that they deserve to remain “unimpeded as a solemn and sacred memorial to the legacy of the Kennedy family.”

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They filed a motion to intervene in two existing lawsuits seeking to block construction of the arch, and after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan prohibited the Trump administration from breaking ground on the structure for 14 days. Following the judge’s ruling, the White House launched a new website reframing the arch as a memorial to U.S. military history.

The family members who filed the lawsuit are the children and grandchildren of Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, the brothers of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, both of whom served in the U.S. Senate. Robert and Edward are buried close to the grave of their brother, who was assassinated in 1963.

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The trio of memorials are a major draw for the millions of people who visit the Arlington cemetery each year.

If the arch were to be built, the Kennedy offspring “would never again be able to appreciate both sites as they always have before, and as the Kennedy family always intended,” lawyers for the relatives wrote.

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They are represented by veteran Washington lawyer Norm Eisen and Democracy Defenders Fund.

“It is unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the Arch as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle. “The judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s health and human services secretary who has a fractured relationship with many of his relatives, did not join the lawsuit.

The website for the arch describes it as “an American vision finally realized,” and offers numerous views of the proposed design, including inscriptions that include “One Nation Under God” on one side and “Golden Age of America” on another.

It’s also set to have towering gold doors complete with panels of sculptures at its base and a golden cherub at the top.

The website does not list a budget or disclose how the project will be paid for, although some estimates have reached as high as $100 million.

Last week, in his final remarks before the midterm elections, Trump talked up his efforts to revamp the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool. On Wednesday, he guided reporters on a tour of the White House ballroom’s construction site.

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In his first official action after his party lost control of Congress, he declared the Oval Office would become a national monument.

0:46 Trump says arch he plans to build “blows away” Paris’ Arc de Triomphe