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Friday, November 6, 2026

The File

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Courts · Friday, November 6, 2026

Judge bars arch work at Memorial Circle for 14 days

The File desk · Nov. 6, 2026, 6:32 a.m. ET

Confirmed3 primary sourcesAdded 6:32 a.m. ET, Nov. 6

Status

Confirmed. Judge Tanya S. Chutkan's order of November 5, 2026, grants the District of Columbia and Virginia a temporary restraining order and sets the duration at 14 days. The opinion the same day says Interior approved construction that day. This desk read the order, the opinion, and the Justice Department notice. It did not open the decision-record attachment.
  • Confirmed
    The order grants the restraining order, states the 14-day duration, defers the stay, denies an administrative stay, holds the Lemmon preliminary-injunction motion in abeyance, and sets a $1.00 bond.
  • Confirmed
    The opinion says the Interior Department issued a final decision on November 5, 2026, approving construction. The Justice Department notice filed that day says the decision package is on the Park Service planning site and is attached.
Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered on November 5, 2026, that work on an arch at Memorial Circle stop for 14 days. The order is on the request from the District of Columbia and Virginia. It does not decide the longer freeze those plaintiffs also asked for.1
The order says that for fourteen (14) days from when it issued, the defendants may not start construction, excavation, demolition, land disturbance, utility installation, roadway closure, or other construction-related activity at or near Memorial Circle for the purpose of building an arch there. They must file a status report by Monday, November 9, 2026. The District and Virginia must post a $1.00 bond under by November 13, 2026.1
A temporary restraining order is a short freeze. A preliminary injunction is the longer version of that freeze, and the opinion says the same four-part test applies to both. The court held the Lemmon plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction in abeyance, which means the request is waiting, not granted or denied. It deferred a stay, which would pause the agency decision itself, and it denied a shorter administrative stay, because the 14-day order already holds the site as it is.12
The opinion says the Interior Department issued a final decision on November 5, 2026, approving construction of the arch. A Justice Department notice filed the same day says the decision package is on the National Park Service planning site and is attached to the notice. This desk did not open that attachment.23
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. For 14 days, crews cannot start the arch at Memorial Circle. The next status report is due Monday, November 9, 2026. The court has not decided whether the Park Service approval stands, and it has not ruled on the longer injunction.
The opinion describes the project as a 250-foot arch the president said he intended to build in the circle, across the river from Arlington National Cemetery.2
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.Order, Document 110, Lemmon v. Trump, No. 26-cv-544, and District of Columbia v. National Park Service, No. 26-cv-3838 (D.D.C.), filed 11/05/26, signed November 5, 2026, by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. The District and Virginia motion for a temporary restraining order "is GRANTED." "for a period of fourteen (14) days starting from the issuance of this Order," defendants are enjoined from construction and related activity "at or near Memorial Circle in Washington, D.C., that is for the purpose of constructing an arch at Memorial Circle." Defendants shall serve the order "within 24 hours." A notice is due "by November 9, 2026," and a status report "by Monday, November 9, 2026." The plaintiffs "shall post a $1.00 bond in accordance with by November 13, 2026." The court "DEFERS ruling" on the motion for a stay of agency action, "DENIES the request for an administrative stay," and will "HOLD IN ABEYANCE" the Lemmon second motion for a preliminary injunction. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572.110.0.pdf
  2. 2.Memorandum Opinion, Document 111, 33 pages, dated November 5, 2026, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. "the court will GRANT the District and Virginia's motion for a temporary restraining order, DEFER ruling on the motion for stay of agency action, and HOLD IN ABEYANCE the Lemmon motion for a preliminary injunction." "The Department of the Interior issued its final decision on November 5, 2026 approving construction of the arch." "A temporary restraining order, like a preliminary injunction, is an extraordinary remedy." The opinion says the same standards apply to both. "authorizes a reviewing court to issue all necessary and appropriate process to postpone the effective date of an agency action." "a stay suspending the agency action itself." "The temporary restraining order entered today bars Defendants from beginning construction or site preparation at Memorial Circle." The project is described as "a 250-foot-tall arch in Memorial Circle." The court will require a $1.00 bond. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572.111.0.pdf
  3. 3.Notice, Document 109, filed 11/05/26. Defendants submit notice of "a decision package prepared by the Department of the Interior approving the proposal to build an arch on Memorial Circle." The package "is available on the National Park Service's Planning, Environment and Public Comment website, at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsList.cfm?projectID=136973. It is also attached to this notice." This desk did not open the planning page or the attachment. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572.109.0.pdf

What is still unknown or disputed

  • The text of the decision record itself. The opinion cites it as an attachment. This desk did not open that file or the Park Service planning page.
  • Whether any construction had already begun before the order. The order bars initiating or effectuating the listed activity. It does not say shovels were already in the ground.
  • What happens when the 14 days end. The order does not set the next hearing.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Order granting a temporary restraining order

    U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · November 5, 2026

    The restraining order is granted for fourteen (14) days and bars arch construction at Memorial Circle. A $1.00 bond is due November 13, 2026. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572.110.0.pdf

  2. Source 2

    Memorandum opinion

    U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · November 5, 2026

    Judge Chutkan grants the restraining order, defers the stay, and says Interior approved construction on November 5, 2026. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572.111.0.pdf

  3. Source 3

    Notice of the Interior decision package

    U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · November 5, 2026

    The Justice Department says Interior's decision package approving the arch is on the Park Service planning site and is attached. Retrieved 6:18 a.m. ET.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572/gov.uscourts.dcd.289572.109.0.pdf