Kennedy family asks court to block Trump arch construction

The family of former US president John F. Kennedy asked a court on Tuesday to block construction of a massive triumphal arch ordered by Donald Trump, according to court documents.

The proposed arch — which at 250 feet (76.2 meters) would be the largest structure of its kind in the world — is one of several construction projects the US president is pushing to put his personal stamp on Washington.

The Kennedy family said in documents filed Tuesday that the arch would block views of the former president and his relatives’ gravesites, “destroying an essential element of the gravesites’ design.”

The family also said that its positioning would block a direct line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetary, “that was designed to represent the unification of the nation following the Civil War.”

Notably, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who currently serves as Trump’s Health Secretary was not named as one of the nine plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Former president John F. Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and two of their children are buried at Arlington, a large military cemetery near Washington, as are his brothers Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, both former senators. Ethel Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy’s wife, is also buried there.

The imposing Kennedy memorial, at the top of the hill on which the cemetery sits, draws thousands of visitors each day. The site, where a flame burns continuously, is one of the cemetery’s most visited sites, along with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

A US judge in early November blocked construction of the arch — on which work has yet to begin — for two weeks to allow time to consider legal challenges to the project.

In late 2025, the Republican president also added his name to the Kennedy Center, a major Washington cultural institution named in honour of the Democratic president assassinated in 1963.

The arts venue bore the name “Donald J. Trump” on its facade for more than six months, until the new name was ruled illegal and removed.