Kennedys sue to block Trump's arch

LINDA KENYON, BYLINE: The Kennedy family members object to the 250-foot arch, arguing it would cast a shadow over the gravesites of their loved ones buried at Arlington National Cemetery. President Trump, as he noted at the White House in December of last year, sees it differently.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's something that is so special. It will be like the one in Paris, but to be honest with you, it blows it away.

KENYON: But the Democracy Defenders Fund, which represents the Kennedy family, says the arch would be a permanent denigration of the gravesites at Arlington. Attorney Norm Eisen, who represents the fund and the Kennedy family members, says constructing the arch defaces their memories and the memories of all veterans interred at Arlington.

NORM EISEN: The Kennedy family members are doing this for themselves, for all of those people and for the rule of law and the separation of powers. Building this arch is illegal.

KENYON: The family members in this lawsuit are the children and grandchildren of the late U.S. Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy. The brothers of the slain President John F. Kennedy are buried near the eternal flame that marks his gravesite. Eisen says their descendants are driven by a special cause.

EISEN: The veterans and the governments who have already sought to oppose the arch have a very weighty case. But the Kennedy family, in the long tradition of public service that is associated with that name, also wishes to stand up and be heard.

KENYON: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who serves as President Trump's Health and Human Services secretary and has a strained relationship with many of his relatives, is not part of the lawsuit.

Linda Kenyon, NPR News, Washington.

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