SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
In Arlington National Cemetery, across the river from Washington, D.C., a flame has been burning for six decades.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: An eternal flame is lighted before the grave by Mrs. Kennedy, the first such memorial to burn in Arlington Cemetery. She is followed by the president's brothers, Robert and Edward.
DETROW: The president is, of course, John F. Kennedy, who was buried on a hill in Arlington after he was assassinated in November 1963. Author Robert Poole once told CBS News that the hill was one of JFK's favorite spots.
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ROBERT POOLE: She wanted Arlington so that President Kennedy would belong to the nation.
DETROW: Other members of the Kennedy family are now buried nearby, including Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated five years later. And this week, nine members of the Kennedy family announced that they are suing in federal court to protect the slain president's resting place. They are arguing President Trump's proposed 250-foot arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would obstruct views and cast a literal shadow over Kennedy family gravesites and the eternal flame. To talk through all of this, we have reached Max Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy and nephew to President Kennedy. Welcome.
MAX KENNEDY: Thanks so much for having me.
DETROW: I just want to start by understanding the legal argument here. Your family's arguing that this would create shadows. It would obscure sight lines. But is this an argument that this is illegal or that this is disrespectful?
KENNEDY: There's no question that what the president is trying to do is illegal. Washington, D.C., is the most beautiful city in the United States. And the reason so many people go there and are awed by it is because for 200 years, we've been incredibly careful about putting in these different monuments and buildings. And the Congress worked out a very specific legal regime, and President Trump has completely ignored that. And if he does build this arch, there's no question that that's an illegal act. Congress said very clearly in two different statutes that they must approve the construction of a building that affects Arlington or that's a memorial.
DETROW: I want to talk specifically about the argument about the shadow, though. Is there any version of this arch that you and your family would not stop to try and fight? If it was smaller, if it was at a slightly different location?
KENNEDY: If the arch were proposed and they followed the rules and regulations that are set for building memorials in Washington, D.C., then we would have no problem with the arch. There's a process that takes several years. And it requires buy-in from both parties. There's a long procedure that would involve architects and historians and public input. And all of that has been ignored in this case. This arch is being constructed at the whim and whimsy of an autocrat. It's a vanity project. And it's completely different than the memorials that dot the city and that enrich the life of the city.
DETROW: Yeah. And I want to come back to those other memorials in a moment. But one more question on the lawsuit itself. You are a lawyer in a family filled with lawyers. Is there any...
KENNEDY: (Laughter).
DETROW: Are you confident you all have standing to move forward, that the court will say that this is a case, that the fact that your family's grave sites are there does give you standing?
KENNEDY: I think they will find that we have standing. We have a very specific injury, which is what is required. And that gives us the ability to stand in for the American people because even though this injures everyone in America, the rules, the arcane rules of standing mean that only someone who has a specific injury can bring the suit. And that's why we brought the suit.
DETROW: Yeah. I want to read a statement from a White House spokesperson. I'm going to read it in full, and I'd love your response. (Reading) It is unfortunate to see that some members of the Kennedy family have joined the litigation against the arch, as the project is intended to honor our heroes who rest in Arlington cemetery. The judiciary should not be abused to politicize a structure designed to unite our nation.
What's your response to that?
KENNEDY: I think that anyone who reads that understands that Arlington National Cemetery is the most sacred ground in our nation, and we are standing to protect Arlington National Cemetery from the arbitrary, capricious vanity of one man. This is one man who wants to build this arch. He's violated every rule. If this is a great idea, then bring it before Congress, follow the rules and get it approved.
DETROW: I will note, your brother is a prominent member of the administration, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services secretary. Have you or has any other family member involved in the suit talked about this with him?
KENNEDY: I (laughter) think - Bobby is a member of the administration. And he has supported the administration, I think, for - on a hundred percent from glyphosate to the war in Iran. And I don't think he'd have any interest in, you know, pursuing anything that might injure his boss. But you should definitely ask him 'cause I haven't.
DETROW: Let's go back to Arlington, the heart of this story. You're suing 'cause you have standing. This is a very important spot for the country, but particularly to your family. And I'm wondering, do you have a favorite spot to go when you visit the eternal flame and when you visit the grave sites of so many members of your family?
KENNEDY: It's funny to think of a favorite spot in terms of my father's grave and my mother's grave. But the place that I go to when I'm there is in front of the crosses for my mom and dad. I usually pray there. And then my mother designed a little reflecting pool, just a few - little bit back, sort of cobblestones walking to it. And so I often spend a little time looking at that and reading some of the words from my father from when he spoke in South Africa.
You know, all you have to do is raise your head up just above that granite wall where those words are written. And you look down at that vista. And it goes down across Memorial Circle, across Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial and the Mall. And it's one of the most beautiful vistas in the world. And I know how much President Kennedy loved that view, and that my father chose that grave site - helped to choose that grave site because of it. And it warms my heart every time I look down there.
DETROW: That is Max Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Thank you so much for talking to us about this lawsuit. Thank you.
KENNEDY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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