Judge Sets Deadlines Before Trump Arch Construction

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the Trump administration to notify her within an hour of key agency decisions and within 30 minutes of any activity preparing to build a memorial arch on Washington’s Memorial Circle. She warned that construction or preparatory demolition before the National Park Service’s final authorization, or without 14 days’ notice, would violate prior court orders. The administration said work could begin as early as Nov. 5, 2026, if the planning commission approves the project, the Interior Department authorizes it and required public notice is issued. Chutkan is considering a preliminary injunction in a challenge brought by Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian; she consolidated that case with a separate suit by the District of Columbia and Virginia.