Few things seem to agitate the left quite like plans to improve or beautify the nation’s capital. Whether the issue is a new White House ballroom and security installation or a power wash of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the outrage machine remains remarkably well supplied, as reported by Red State.

Critics also erupted when President Donald Trump sent the National Guard into Washington, D.C., to confront the violence plaguing the seat of government. Now, Virginia and the District of Columbia have opened another front in the resistance campaign.

The two governments have asked a federal court to block construction of Trump’s planned Triumphal Arch. The challenge arrives just before excavation is scheduled to begin, potentially as soon as this coming week.

Virginia and Washington, D.C., contend that the arch would be unlawfully tall and would disrupt traffic for years. Their Saturday filing in federal court in Washington was first reported by The Washington Post.

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“This project is flagrantly unlawful,” the two governments said in the filing. The lawsuit is a last-minute attempt to stop the project before construction begins.

The filing also presents a broad list of predicted consequences from the planned three-year construction period. Those objections include traffic congestion between the jurisdictions, pollution, stormwater runoff into the Potomac, interference with emergency services, and other unspecified challenges.

“During the three-year period of construction, the Arch project will inevitably snarl traffic between the jurisdictions, produce pollution and stormwater runoff in the Potomac, interfere with emergency services, and pose numerous other challenges,” the governments argue.

Opponents have also focused on how the planned 250-foot-tall arch could affect Arlington National Cemetery. The Washington Post conducted an analysis that found the structure would cast shadows across graves and monuments within the cemetery.

President Trump's planned 250-foot-tall arch would cast shadows on many graves and monuments in nearby Arlington National Cemetery, the @washingtonpost's 3-D analysis found.

On some days, Trump's arch would even shade the grave and eternal flame of JFK. https://t.co/uWuEsJcpGW — Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 27, 2026

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On some days, according to that analysis, the arch would shade the grave and Eternal Flame of President John F. Kennedy. That claim creates a dramatic image, but it leaves out one rather unavoidable feature of the sky: the sun moves.

The shaded areas would not remain permanently dark. They would instead fall under the arch’s shadow for a portion of the day, just as areas around trees and other structures routinely move into and out of shade.

The Trump administration has argued that many of the predicted shadows would appear in the early morning. Those shadows, according to the administration, would arrive before the cemetery’s opening hours.

The Washington Post nevertheless devoted its analytical resources to tracking where the arch’s shadow might fall. Meanwhile, the trees around the cemetery appear to have escaped similar scrutiny despite producing plenty of shadows themselves.

The lawsuit from Virginia and Washington, D.C., is not the only legal challenge confronting the project. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing involving a separate lawsuit against the arch.

Chutkan, described in the source as a notorious anti-Trump judge, indicated that she may temporarily block construction. During the hearing, she also questioned whether the president was merely attempting to “bedazzle the city.”

The administration argues that the arch planned for Memorial Circle would become a major tourist attraction. Officials also describe it as a vital security installation that would house snipers and drones.

The structure is planned for Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. It has been described as both the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck.

Trump’s announcement said excavation work was being prepared to begin over a two-week period after a wait of more than 125 years. The announcement presented the structure as an architectural tribute to Arlington Cemetery and the power and significance of the nation’s capital.

We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World.

— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) September 3, 2026

“This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World,” the announcement said.

For supporters, the arch would combine security, tourism, architecture, and a visible celebration of American greatness. For its opponents, apparently even a moving shadow is enough to summon lawyers and launch another frantic courtroom offensive just before the machinery arrives.

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