Judge blocks construction of Trump's proposed Washington arch for 14 days

WASHINGTON (Nov. 6) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked construction of President Donald Trump's proposed memorial arch in the nation's capital, ordering a 14-day pause just after a federal planning panel gave the project final approval.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary restraining order late Thursday into early Friday barring the Trump administration from starting construction work for 14 days, NPR reported. The order came less than two hours after the National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 to approve the roughly 250-foot structure following a long public hearing that stretched nearly eight to nine hours, according to NPR and the BBC.

The Associated Press said Chutkan's ruling delays any work beginning on the monumental arch. The administration had said construction could begin immediately or this week, NPR and the BBC reported.

The arch would stand in Memorial Circle, a traffic island on the bridge linking the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery, NPR reported. Supporters on the commission cast it as a tribute tied to America's 250th anniversary and to veterans. Critics have called it a vanity project and warned it would disrupt views of Arlington and the Lincoln Memorial, according to the BBC and NPR.

Design renderings described by the BBC show a winged Lady Liberty figure atop the arch, flanked by eagles, with gold inscriptions including "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice for All."

The District of Columbia and Virginia sought the temporary restraining order. In a 33-page opinion, Chutkan found the local governments were likely to be harmed by construction, including by traffic disruptions that would begin as soon as work started, NPR reported. Other lawsuits challenging the project's legality are also pending, according to the BBC and NPR.