Joe Kennedy Joins Family Lawsuit to Block Trump’s Proposed Memorial Arch

Joe Kennedy has joined eight relatives in a legal effort to stop President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch near Washington’s Memorial Circle, according to the article. The lawsuit argues that the 250-foot structure could cast shadows over graves and interfere with views of memorials at Arlington National Cemetery, including the site of President John F. Kennedy’s eternal flame. The proposed arch, which the article says has been nicknamed the “Arc de Trump,” would stand across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial and be roughly twice its height. The Washington Post’s analysis, cited in the report, found that the structure could shade the eternal flame for as long as nine minutes on 18 days each year. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by former congressman Joe Kennedy, seven surviving children of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, and Edward Kennedy Jr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the secretary of health and human services, is not among the plaintiffs, the article notes. The family says the project could affect not only Kennedy graves but also the resting places of service members buried at Arlington. Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy described the request as an effort to protect sacred spaces. They also argued that Trump had bypassed legal procedures intended to preserve the national cemetery. Their filing says the arch would harm historically important sight lines and cast shadows over graves and memorials honoring Americans who died in service. The legal challenge follows a federal judge’s temporary halt to construction, which the article says came after concerns about the project’s potential impact. The Kennedy relatives contend that the dispute is about preserving the cemetery and the protections Congress established for it, rather than simply opposing a new landmark.