THE APEX TIMES
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin directed the parties in a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order to confer and propose a briefing schedule by Saturday evening.
Virginia and Washington, D.C. have sued to block construction of a planned “Trump arch,” and a federal judge on Friday issued an order setting a near-term process for how quickly the parties will brief their request for a temporary restraining order, according to multiple reports. The case is before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin.
The plaintiffs, Virginia and the District of Columbia, filed suit seeking court intervention to stop the project while the motion for a temporary restraining order is pending. The court action centers on the timeline for the emergency motion rather than a merits ruling at this stage, the reports said.
In her order, Judge Chutkin directed the parties to speak with one another and reach agreement on a proposed briefing schedule for the temporary restraining order by Saturday evening, according to the NPR report. The order also required the parties to return to the court with the agreed briefing schedule.
The judge’s instruction to confer is aimed at speeding up the procedural steps that follow filing of a request for immediate relief. Temporary restraining orders are typically used to preserve the status quo while a court decides whether a longer-term injunction is warranted.
The dispute is part of a broader pattern of litigation in which state and local governments challenge federal or executive-branch-related actions on the timing, legality, and administrative requirements governing public projects. While the parties’ specific legal arguments were not detailed in the reports provided, the case is framed around whether construction should proceed while the court considers emergency relief.
The Hill and Al Jazeera also reported on the lawsuit and Judge Chutkin’s procedural order. Both outlets described the requested emergency halt and the court’s direction for expedited coordination on how the motion will be briefed.
Absent the agreed briefing schedule, the court could set its own schedule for submissions, which would affect how quickly the temporary restraining order motion is decided. The immediate next step identified in the reports is the parties’ agreement and filing of a briefing timetable by Saturday evening.
If the court denies the temporary restraining order, construction could proceed while other litigation continues. If granted, it would pause work pending further court review. In either event, the judge’s order establishes a clear short fuse for the parties to litigate the emergency request.
