D.C. and Virginia sue to stop Trump's triumphal arch before shovels hit the ground next week
Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a 46-page complaint Saturday arguing the 250-foot arch at Memorial Circle violates five federal laws and the District's own height limit, with construction potentially four days away.
In brief
Why this lands on every D.C. resident's doorstep
Four days. That is how long Washingtonians may have before bulldozers reach Memorial Circle. Construction of the arch is expected to begin Nov. 5, 2026, according to court documents. On Saturday morning, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones moved to make sure that date never comes.
The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a joint lawsuit challenging the proposed Triumphal Arch at Memorial Circle, arguing that the Trump administration is pushing the project forward without required reviews and approvals mandated by federal law. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones filed the complaint Saturday on behalf of their respective jurisdictions, targeting the approval process behind the planned 250-foot memorial.
The suit lands at U.S. District Court with a clock ticking. It is not a protest. It is a legal emergency stop.
What the lawsuit actually says
The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a joint federal lawsuit against the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones filed the 46-page complaint in U.S. District Court.
The core argument: the Trump administration never got permission. D.C. and Virginia argue that the arch cannot legally be built without approval from Congress. Their complaint cites the Commemorative Works Act, which requires specific congressional authorization for covered commemorative works, as well as a separate federal statute that says a building or structure cannot be erected on federal land in the District without express congressional authority.
That is not the only statutory problem. The suit also claims that the proposed height of the arch violates the Height of Buildings Act, saying that the proposed structure would "nearly double" D.C.'s statutory 130-foot height limit. At 250 feet, the arch would clear that cap by 120 feet. No D.C. building does that.
The complaint also says the project violates three additional laws: the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.
The attorneys general put the administration's review process bluntly. "In their rush to break ground on the Arch, Defendants have made only half-hearted gestures at complying with these requirements."
The specific harms D.C. residents would feel
This is not abstract constitutional law. The lawsuit catalogs what residents of the District, and drivers crossing between D.C. and Virginia every day, would actually experience during a two-to-three-year construction period.
The attorneys general argue a two-to-three-year construction period will close portions of Memorial Circle, reduce Memorial Bridge to two westbound lanes, and introduce heavy construction traffic. They claim this will "snarl traffic" between the jurisdictions and impede emergency evacuation routes.
The Potomac River comes into it too. The suit argues the project threatens the Potomac River with stormwater runoff and disrupts the habitats of two endangered bat species.
Then there is the airspace problem. The 250-foot arch and its 320-foot construction cranes will sit near the approach to Reagan National Airport, posing risks to one of the nation's most restrictive airspaces. Those risks, the lawsuit states, are compounded by plans to use the arch as a military installation housing drones and ammunition.
That last detail comes from President Trump himself. Trump said in a Truth Social post that he had "agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch...into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drone, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage."
The lawsuit also takes aim at what this would erase visually. The filing claims the arch will block the historic sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, a vista designed to represent the reunited North and South after the Civil War.
Who is named, who is fighting back
The District of Columbia and Virginia jointly filed the federal lawsuit. The lawsuit listed as defendants the National Park Service, NPS Comptroller Jessica Bowron, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and others.
Schwalb did not mince words in a public statement Saturday. "Construction of the Arch is flagrantly illegal and will cause serious, immediate, and irreparable harm to the District and its residents," Schwalb said. "We're filing this lawsuit now to protect DC's unique interests and critical role in preserving the safeguards that keep our nation's capital beautiful and safe."
Virginia AG Jones went further. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones called Trump's proposed arch an "illegal vanity project" and "an affront to this hallowed ground and the extraordinary sacrifices it represents."
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who also sits on the National Capital Planning Commission, weighed in. "What we commemorate, where we commemorate it, and how a memorial fits into Washington's historic landscape are important decisions that deserve careful consideration," Mendelson said in a statement released following the lawsuit's filing.
The White House is not backing down. Asked about the lawsuit, a White House spokesman reiterated the administration's position that the arch would be "one of the most iconic landmarks" in the world.
Where this case sits in a broader legal fight
Saturday's filing is not the first legal challenge to the arch. Arlington County has filed a separate lawsuit challenging the arch. The new challenge joins two existing lawsuits against the arch.
Those prior cases have already produced courtroom friction. In a hearing Friday in the separate lawsuit seeking to block the arch, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan independently raised questions about how the arch would affect traffic patterns and other potential disruptions to the region.
The administration argues momentum is on its side. In Friday's hearing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Stander cited the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in August allowing ballroom construction to continue while litigation proceeded. That is the playbook: break ground, then dare the courts to stop a project mid-build.
The D.C.-Virginia complaint anticipates that tactic directly. The filing warns: "Once construction begins, Defendants will argue, as they have done in other cases, that an order halting construction would irreparably harm the federal government, pose security risks, and impermissibly alter the status quo they have unilaterally created." The attorneys general then add: "The Court should not allow this cynical gambit to succeed."
The District's argument for standing is specific. Schwalb and Jones wrote in the lawsuit that "the construction of the Arch will inflict immediate and irreparable harm on the District and Virginia." They argued the arch "is slated to be built on a busy traffic circle that abuts the border between the jurisdictions, at the center of a historic viewshed, in a river whose environment the District has a statutory responsibility to protect." That framing is deliberate: prior challengers struggled on standing grounds, and D.C. and Virginia are betting that tangible, jurisdictional harms read differently to a federal judge.
What D.C. residents should watch
Nov. 5 is the date to track. Federal planners could approve the project on Nov. 5, and the lawsuit claims construction could begin that same day. Any emergency injunction request from Schwalb and Jones will need a ruling before that morning.
Judge Chutkan's docket. She already questioned the administration's traffic-impact claims at Friday's hearing in the parallel case. Whether the new D.C.-Virginia complaint lands before her or a different judge matters enormously to the timeline.
Memorial Bridge commuters. The attorneys general argue the construction period will reduce Memorial Bridge to two westbound lanes. Any commuter using that crossing between D.C. and Arlington should understand that a construction start next week means lane closures could follow within days.
The Height of Buildings Act argument. The jurisdictions argue the arch would run afoul of the Height Act, which caps building heights at 130 feet in D.C. The arch would be nearly double that height. If a court agrees, that finding would be hard for the administration to work around with a simple regulatory fix.
Reagan National approaches. The 250-foot arch and its 320-foot construction cranes will sit near the approach to Reagan National Airport, posing risks to one of the nation's most restrictive airspaces. The FAA's position on that has not yet been made public.
On a Thursday in late October, a staff member at KIPP DC Grow Academy in Shaw opened a donated box of Halloween candy and found a loaded 9mm Glock inside. The gun was found inside a box of candy during a fall-themed event at the school in Northwest. No one was injured. The school put on its fall festival Thursday, and while getting ready to hand out candy to kids, a staff member found the gun. Police are still investigating how it got there. The city faces a federal government that wants to put a military drone installation at its front door, and an elementary school's candy box that turned up a handgun. Halloween fell on a Friday this year.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
