Several members of the Kennedy family have sued President Donald Trump, aiming to stop the building of the triumphal arch he hopes to build near Washington, D.C., new court filings show.
The proposed 250-foot monument in the style of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe would be built on the Virginia side of the Potomac River between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, where American veterans have been laid to rest since the Civil War. According to Kennedy family members behind the lawsuit, the 25-story arch would "cast a shadow" over memorials to their family members laid to rest in the historic burial site.
"President Donald J. Trump is attempting to unlawfully erect a massive arch," says the Kennedy family members’ lawsuit, "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."
According to the lawsuit, the arch would block sightlines onto the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame, a memorial to the former president who was assassinated in 1963. They contend it will also cast a shadow over the graves of prominent Kennedys buried in the cemetery. In addition to JFK, others buried there include Robert F. Kennedy, the former senator assassinated in 1968, and Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy, who died in 2009 after 43 years of serving in Congress.
Among the nine Kennedys named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are RFK’s daughter Kerry Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, Jr.
"Vanity should never stand in the way of valor," Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, said in a statement following the court filing in Washington, D.C.
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for comment.
Trump has previously promoted the project as both a landmark and a military asset. Speaking on Nov. 2 during an event highlighting improvements to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, he said the arch could house drones and snipers.
"It's right smack in the middle of everything, so very important for our military. But from a beautification standpoint, it'll be the most beautiful arch in the world," Trump said.
The court filing is the latest attempt to thwart the president’s attempt to build the arch. Opponents have previously argued that the arch would obstruct the view from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington Cemetery, which was built on the confiscated land of former Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
The clear view between the two sites is meant to represent the reunification of the country following the Civil War, according to court filings.
Plans to build Trump’s arch have been approved by a board led by people appointed by the president. But other hurdles remain. A federal judge on Nov. 5 temporarily blocked the project from going forward in response to a separate lawsuit brought by Washington and Virginia, arguing that the president needs approval from Congress in order to build.
Trump's plans to remake the nation's capital, including the proposed arch, are not popular among Americans. In May, polls showed 52% of Americans were against the project, including 41% who strongly oppose it, while only 21% of people support the plan to build the towering arch.
Democrats retaking Congress in the midterms argued in the run-up to the election that the president was too focused on construction projects in Washington and not focused enough on bringing down the cost of living for everyday Americans.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but he is very focused on home renovation. He should be on HGTV," former President Barack Obama quipped in one viral campaign moment. "Guy is building a ballroom that is bigger than the White House, paved over the Rose Garden – paved it over – put a helicopter pad on the side lawn."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Valor over vanity: JFK heirs sue Trump over plans to build arch
