Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is joining a coalition of states urging a federal court to block President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot “Trump’s Arch” monument near Arlington National Cemetery, arguing the project bypassed required federal review and congressional approval.
Virginia and the other states filed a friend-of-the-court brief Monday in support of plaintiffs challenging the project in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The coalition argues that federal law requires new commemorative works in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas to go through a process involving congressional authorization, public input and review from federal advisory bodies.
“The law is clear, and Donald Trump does not get to override it,” Jones said in a statement. “Projects on federal land that affect sites of national remembrance require Congressional approval, expert review, and meaningful public input.”
The filing argues that allowing the arch to proceed without congressional approval could undermine Washington, D.C.’s role as a place that represents the entire country rather than the interests of a single president or political movement.
“Congress, independent experts, and the public were pushed aside at Donald Trump’s whim and in service of his inflated ego,” Jones said.
The coalition also raised concerns about the monument’s location and design, arguing that the structure could overshadow nearby memorials and disrupt views of Arlington National Cemetery and other historic sites. Jones said Virginia is asking the court to uphold protections for federal land and ensure the nation’s monuments remain representative of “history, sacrifice and democratic ideals.”
“This project would diminish the dignity owed to the fallen soldiers and heroes at Arlington National Cemetery here in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Jones said. “It would also intrude on the memorials just across the Potomac, including the monument honoring Thomas Jefferson, a former Governor of Virginia whose words helped give birth to this nation.”