(WASHINGTON) — A nonprofit organization is attempting to stop the Trump administration’s repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, alleging that the plan “willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress.”
The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a lawsuit on Monday in D.C. federal court asking a judge to halt the renovations until the Trump administration gets approval from Congress.
“Every day that the resurfacing continues, the historic character of the Reflecting Pool is being further and fundamentally altered,” the lawsuit alleged about the project, part of President Donald Trump’s D.C. “beautification” efforts that include renovations to the White House East Wing and a planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
Because the reflecting pool and its surrounding landscape are on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the National Mall Historic District, the lawsuit alleged that Trump administration should have gotten approval for the changes under the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
“This latest desecration of the reflecting pool is part of a pattern — epitomized most notably by the rush to destroy the East Wing of the White House — in which this Administration willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress,” the lawsuit alleged.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation is a D.C.-based nonprofit that maintains a database of cultural landscapes and advocates for the preservation of threatened landscape architecture.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior defended the renovations, which includes repainting the pool “American Flag Blue” and installing a new filtration system.
“President Trump has done more to make our nation’s capital a shining beacon than any other president in the history of this country. The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations,” the statement said.
The statement did not address whether the Trump administration sought any kind of approval for the project or if they plan to do so.
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