Joining lawsuit, Kennedy family members say Trump's arch would be 'denigration' of JFK, RFK plots at Arlington

Nine family members of the Kennedy political dynasty are asking a judge to block U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to build a towering memorial arch, saying the 76-metre structure would cast a shadow over their relatives' gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery.

Legal filing comes with Trump administration eager to break ground on temporarily blocked project

The Associated Press

· Posted: Nov 11, 2026 6:32 AM EST | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

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Nine family members of the Kennedy political dynasty asked a judge on Tuesday to block U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to build a towering memorial arch, saying the 250-foot (76-metre) structure would cast a shadow over their relatives' gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery.

The shadow would "fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites," the relatives argued. They filed a motion to intervene in two existing lawsuits seeking to block construction of the arch.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan last week prohibited the Trump administration from breaking ground on the structure for 14 days.

The nine Kennedy family members who filed suit are children and grandchildren of Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, brothers of the slain U.S. president John F. Kennedy, both of whom served in the U.S. Senate. They are buried close to the eternal flame that marks JFK's gravesite, a trio of memorials that are a major draw for the millions of people who visit the Arlington cemetery each year.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, speaks at a demonstration against U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed arch on Oct. 1 in Washington. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

Building the arch would be a "permanent denigration" of the gravesites, lawyers for the relatives wrote.

"The Arch would significantly damage the memorial to the Kennedys, as well as the heroes who eternally rest at Arlington National Cemetery," the filing said.

"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 honour 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.

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The arch project is one of several around Washington that the Republican president has undertaken as he alters the capital to his tastes — from renovating one of its storied public golf courses, to threatening to demolish the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Those projects could soon face intense scrutiny as Democrats will take control of Congress in early January after the results of last week's midterm elections.

The White House last week unveiled a glitzy new website to showcase the arch, which is slated to rise in a mass of gold ornamentation and stately grey granite between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

The family is represented by veteran Washington lawyer Norm Eisen and Democracy Defenders Fund. Eisen and his organization have also filed lawsuits against the Kennedy Center plans and represented a man who successfully fought off prosecution related to an incident at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after Trump ordered renovations for that Washington, D.C., monument in a no-bid contract.