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The gravesite of former President John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery sits on the same axis as the Lincoln Memorial (seen in the distance). Kennedy's relatives say Trump's 250-foot arch would not only disrupt the view between the monuments, but cast a shadow over his grave. Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
One of America's most prominent political dynasties has waded into the growing fight against President Trump's proposed arch in Washington, D.C.
Nine members of the Kennedy family filed suit in federal court on Tuesday to block the 250-foot structure, saying it would obstruct their relatives' gravesites — including the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame — at nearby Arlington National Cemetery.
"A towering arch casting shadows across the graves of our father, mother, and uncles, as well as the graves of so many who have served our country, would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles, undermining the safeguards established by our elected representatives to protect this hallowed ground for generations to come," Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy said in a statement on behalf of the family.
The plaintiffs include children of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy and a son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, all three of whom are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. There is one noticeable absence: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., did not join his siblings in the lawsuit against his own administration.
"It is unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the Arch as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told NPR in a statement. "We will continue making the case for this beautiful and fitting monument and are confident we will be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds."
Max Kennedy, one of RFK's sons, told NPR's All Things Considered on Wednesday that his family is acting to protect Arlington National Cemetery from "the arbitrary, capricious vanity of one man."
"This is one man who wants to build this arch," he said. "He's violated every rule. If this is a great idea, then bring it before Congress, follow the rules and get it approved."
The Kennedys' motion, filed hours before Veterans' Day, adds a highly personal layer to the ongoing legal fight.
"[The arch] constitutes nothing less than a permanent denigration of the Kennedy Gravesites and the final resting place for Plaintiffs' parents and grandparents," they wrote in their 27-page filing . "Plaintiffs would never again be able to appreciate both sites as they always have before, and as the Kennedy family always intended."
The Kennedys seek to join the existing federal lawsuit against the arch, which combines two cases: one brought by Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian earlier this year, and another filed by the governments of D.C. and Virginia late last month. The Arlington County Board has also filed a lawsuit in Virginia.
The Trump administration has raced its arch through the federal approvals process over the past year, culminating in a final green light from the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday. Officials had previously said they could break ground in Memorial Circle that same day.
But within moments of the late-night approval , District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan stepped in with an order blocking construction for two weeks while she evaluates the broader legal challenges.
One of the main arguments against the arch is that its construction is unlawful without congressional approval, which the Trump administration has not sought. The administration maintains that the arch is justified by a century-old authorization of two never-built columns at that same location, which did not seem to convince the judge: Chutkan wrote last week that "merely to state this argument is to reveal its flaws."
The administration has also argued that the case should be thrown out because of plaintiffs' lack of standing, which was the Supreme Court's reasoning in the White House ballroom case . But Chutkan has said D.C. and Virginia likely have standing to sue over the arch, given the financial and logistical harms they would suffer.
David Super, a Georgetown University law professor, told NPR in an email that he believes the Kennedys' involvement only strengthens the plaintiffs' standing.
"I can imagine ... that a judge on any level would feel uncomfortable denigrating their concerns over their family graves the way the Supreme Court denigrated the plaintiffs' interest in the White House ballroom case," he wrote. "And coming at a time when the Administration is hinting that it might tear down the Kennedy Center, this certainly makes the President look insensitive or even hostile to his revered predecessor."
Several Kennedy family members have spoken out against Trump's attempted takeover of the Kennedy Center, which is the subject of a separate lawsuit.
Kennedy told NPR that his family acted here in part because they have the unique legal standing to argue the arch will harm them directly. In doing so, he said they can "stand in for the American people because ... this injures everyone in America."
He said his family would have no problem with the arch if it had followed the standard rules and regulations for adding new memorials to D.C., a process that typically includes years of expert and public input.
"All of that has been ignored in this case," Kennedy said. "This arch is being constructed at the whim and whimsy of an autocrat. It's a vanity project, and it's completely different than the memorials that dot the city and that enrich the life of the city."
JFK's gravesite, featuring an eternal flame, sits just below Arlington House, the former home of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Trump's arch would stand in a traffic circle on the bridge that connects Arlington House to D.C.'s National Mall. Brendan Smialowksi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The cemetery says JFK's gravesite is one of its two most-visited locations, along with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Kennedys explain in their legal filing that JFK's family chose Arlington as his final resting place so that his gravesite could be accessible to the public.
"President Kennedy himself visited the Cemetery and stood where he is now buried," they wrote. "The vista looking back toward the District from the spot where his grave now stands was one of his favorites. While looking out, he remarked, 'I could stay here forever.'"
The grave was intentionally placed on the same axis as the bridge connecting Arlington House (the former home of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee) to the Lincoln Memorial, with Kennedy's personal secretary remarking that he was "the link between Lincoln and Lee."
Kennedy's gravesite is topped with an eternal flame, which has burned since his funeral in November 1963. The Kennedys said their ancestors were "assured that all aspects of the design would safeguard visibility of the Eternal Flame" from the bridge, even with its intentionally low profile to preserve views of Arlington House.
The arch, they say, would block those views. The Trump administration has acknowledged that the arch would disrupt the historic significance of many nearby memorials, but has said building it anywhere else would defeat its purpose.
The Kennedy complaint goes a step further, citing a recent forensic analysis by the Washington Post that shows the arch would cast shadows over tens of thousands of graves. It would darken JFK's memorial on 50 days of the year, and briefly block the eternal flame on almost half of those.
The Kennedy family members included this photo in their legal filing, showing the eternal flame at JFK's gravesite on the night of his funeral in November 1963. Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston hide caption
The Trump administration has said the a
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Nine members of the Kennedy family asked a federal judge in Washington on Tuesday for permission to join the legal battle against President Donald Trump’s planned “triumphal” arch, arguing the structure would cast a shadow over some of their relatives’ graves.
The Kennedys said the arch’s planned location in the nation’s capital would also obstruct the clear sight line from the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame memorial across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, which the family called “an essential element” of the design.
The high-profile request once again pits one of the most storied families in American history against Trump. The two sides have also sparred over Trump’s attempt to r emake the Kennedy Center . Trump closed the arts institution after a judge blocked him from adding his name to the building.
The Kennedys asking to join the suit include seven of Robert F. Kennedy’s living children — all except Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In a statement, Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy said the request was about “protecting sacred spaces,” adding that they believed Trump had “violated the laws and procedures established by Congress to protect this most sacred national memorial.”
“A towering arch casting shadows across the graves of our father, mother, and uncles, as well as the graves of so many who have served our country, would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles, undermining the safeguards established by our elected representatives to protect this hallowed ground for generations to come,” the statement said.
The District of Columbia and Virginia, as well as Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. ambassador Michael Lemmon, had sued over the project. The Kennedys asked to join both suits, arguing they have a “direct, immediate stake in this matter and claims that share common questions of law.”
The arch is set to be built on Memorial Circle, between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It is designed to stand at 250 feet tall, more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial.
A federal judge blocked construction on the project last week, shortly after a planning board with a majority of Trump-aligned members voted to approve it.
Kennedy family members buried at Arlington include President John F. Kennedy, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy.
The Kennedys asking to join the suit argue they have “a unique interest” in the property.
“As members of the Kennedy family, intervenors have a particular interest in protecting the Kennedy Gravesites, ensuring that these Gravesites remain unimpeded as a solemn and sacred memorial to the legacy of the Kennedy family,” they wrote.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in response to the suit that the administration is “confident we will be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds.”
“It is unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the Arch as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery,” Ingle said in a statement. “The judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation.”
Gary Grumbach is an NBC News legal affairs reporter, based in Washington, D.C.
Raquel Coronell Uribe is a politics reporter for NBC News.
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An artist's rendering of Trump's proposed arch near Arlington Cemetery
The family of former US President John F Kennedy has sued to block construction of a triumphal arch that President Donald Trump plans to build in the nation's capital.
Nine members of the political dynasty argue the 250ft (76m) structure would block the view of Kennedy's grave, as well as the graves of thousands of veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Last week, a US judge temporarily halted the project on the heels of a vote allowing construction to proceed.
The White House said it was "unfortunate" to see that some members of the Kennedy family had joined litigation against an arch "intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington Cemetery".
"The judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation," White House spokesman Davis R Ingle said in a statement to the BBC.
"We will continue making the case for this beautiful and fitting monument and are confident we will be fully vindicated as this litigation proceeds," he added.
Watch: Protesters demonstrate against Trump’s proposed arch
Last week the project won approval from the National Capital Planning Commission.
But US District Judge Tanya Chutkan then ruled there should be a 14-day pause before any work can start on the arch as litigation plays out.
The Kennedy family filed its complaint under a joint lawsuit brought by the state of Virginia and Washington DC seeking to block construction, arguing that the arch will damage "historically significant sightlines" if erected at the gateway of the cemetery.
The plaintiffs include seven children of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, as well as their grandson - former Democrat congressman Joe Kennedy - and Ted Kennedy's son Edward Kennedy Jr.
It does not include Trump cabinet official Robert F Kennedy Jr, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services.
Their motion moves to intervene in two other lawsuits filed by conservationists and veterans seeking to halt the construction.
They say the arch would be a "permanent denigration" of the gravesites and that the Kennedy offspring "would never again be able to appreciate both sites as they always have before, and as the Kennedy family always intended".
The Kennedy family argues the structure "will permanently cast shadows over and damage historically significant sightlines to the existing gravesites and memorials established in the Kennedy family's honor" at the cemetery.
The structure would also "fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites", including the memorials of hundreds of thousands of US veterans, the Kennedys said.
The complaint said that the National Park Service and Interior Department authorised construction on 5 November 2026 without the necessary congressional approval.
The so-called Arc de Trump is one of the president's efforts to remake the capital city and is meant to commemorate the country's 250th anniversary.
Last year, he also added his name to the Kennedy Center, a major Washington DC cultural institution named in honour of JFK.
Trump's name remained on the facade for six months until the addition was ruled illegal and removed.
What we know about White House plans for an 'Arc de Trump'
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The Kennedy family is joining the efforts to block the construction of President Trump’s 250-foot triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
Nine members of the Kennedy family are the latest parties to challenge the development of an arch near Arlington National Cemetery, according to a Tuesday legal filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The Kennedy family members said the massive arch would “permanently cast shadows” over the graves of their relatives and those of fallen American servicemembers and obstruct the designed sightline from the eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite.
“We believe Donald Trump has violated the laws and procedures established by Congress to protect this most sacred national memorial,” said Rory Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy , children of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, in a joint statement Tuesday.
“A towering arch casting shadows across the graves of our father, mother, and uncles, as well as the graves of so many who have served our country, would also cast a shadow over our democratic principles, undermining the safeguards established by our elected representatives to protect this hallowed ground for generations to come,” they added.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A federal district judge temporarily blocked construction of the arch last week. The decision came after the National Capital Planning Commission, led by Trump appointees, approved plans for the project. The triumphal arch, as Trump calls it, is being constructed to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary, according to the National Park Service. Trump has said it would also serve as a military complex with snipers and drones.
Three veterans and an architectural historian were the first to sue the Trump administration over the project in February. The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a separate lawsuit to stop the project late last month.
Those seeking to block the arch’s construction argue the president doesn’t have the authority to move forward with the project without congressional approval, which is required when building structures or new monuments on federal public land in the nation’s capital. Government lawyers have said the National Park Service has authority over national parkland.
The Kennedys argue they have interest in blocking the arch’s construction to protect the gravesites and memorials of family members including the former president and his brothers, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, all of whom are buried or memorialized at Arlington National Cemetery across the bridge from D.C. in Virginia.
The proposed arch would be twice as large as the Lincoln Memorial and take about three years to complete. It is one of several construction projects the president has pursued around the nation’s capital during his second term, including Trump’s White House ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The president has pushed through construction of these projects even as they face litigation arguing he has failed to obtain congressional approval.
Write to Jennifer Calfas at jennifer.calfas@wsj.com
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