The Trump administration admits a new giant arch will ruin historic views. This is not a guess. It is in the official planning documents.

The National Park Service wrote that the project causes adverse effects. They said these bad effects cannot be avoided. The arch would stand 250 feet tall.

That is taller than most office buildings. It would sit near Arlington National Cemetery. This is where 400,000 soldiers rest.

Three Vietnam veterans say this is wrong. Their names are Michael Lemmon, Shaun Byrnes, and Jon Gundersen. They are joining forces with an architectural historian.

His name is Calder Loth. They want to protect the sightlines. These views connect the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington House.

The city was designed to keep these views clear. The Potomac River flows between them. The arch would block this symbolic line.

Two of the veterans hope to be buried there. They fear their final resting place will be overshadowed. Nicolas Sansone represents the plaintiffs.

He works for the Public Citizen Litigation Group. He told Fox News that the design is deliberate. He said the capital is laid out with care.

The view is meaningful to the plaintiffs. The administration plans to start digging soon. They said work begins within two weeks.

The veterans asked a judge to stop it. They want a temporary restraining order. They argue Congress must approve such changes.

The White House disagrees with this view. Officials point to a law from 1925. That law allowed two columns to be built.

Those columns were never actually constructed. The administration says this old law covers the arch. They claim they do not need new permission.

Sansone calls this a weak argument. He says a 1925 price cap does not apply now. The costs are much higher today.

The project is totally different too. He asked who gets to decide on monuments. Is it one person in the White House?

Or is it a democratic process? The veterans say it should be the latter. They believe the public deserves a say.

The legal battle has lasted for months. The stakes are high for historic preservation. The court must decide next.

The excavation crews are waiting for the signal. The view across the river is at risk. The plaintiffs stand firm against the plan.