President Donald Trump's allies just made their move on one of his most contested pet projects without waiting for a judge to weigh in.
According to The Washington Post and Axios, the National Capital Planning Commission, a panel Trump has filled with his own appointees, signed off Thursday on his planned 250-foot triumphal arch, even as a federal judge weighs two lawsuits seeking to block it.
Administration officials have said crews could begin work right away. The vote followed a virtual hearing that dragged on for roughly nine hours, with more than 100 people testifying, many of them veterans, historians and architects who urged the panel to scrap the project, The Post reported.
Trump appointees running the commission brushed off the objections. Stuart Levenbach, the panel's vice chair, dismissed the site as "little more than a tired traffic circle." When D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who also sits on the commission, asked to delay the vote, Interior Department official Kevin Lilly shot back, "We want a decision tonight."
Mendelson argued the project lacked congressional approval, noting lawmakers a century ago envisioned a pair of columns for the site, not an arch. He also pointed to Trump telling reporters last year the arch would honor "me."
The fight now moves to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is weighing combined lawsuits from D.C. and Virginia and from a group of veterans. Earlier this week, she ordered the government to alert the court within 30 minutes of starting any construction-related work, Axios reported. At a hearing last Friday, she pressed a Justice Department lawyer on the timeline, asking, "What is the rush to put this arch up?"
Critics also warn the structure would snarl traffic, complicate emergency evacuations and pose air safety risks near Reagan National Airport, according to Axios. Construction would take two to three years, with crews working 20 hours a day, according to the Trump administration.
The Trump administration has refused to identify its contractors, but a vehicle linked to a division of Grunley Construction was photographed near the site Tuesday, The Post reported. In a court filing late Wednesday, the Justice Department said the firm "may be — but is not necessarily" preparing for work.
Democratic lawmakers have signaled they plan to make it harder for Trump to push through his Washington projects once they take control of Congress in January.
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