The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool lawsuit on Monday, asking a judge to force the Trump administration to stop work on the landmark basin between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The suit says the administration moved to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without undergoing the reviews required under federal preservation law.
The filing names the Interior Department and the National Park Service as defendants and says the changes violate rules that protect historic sites. It comes after Trump called the area filthy before workers repainted the Reflecting Pool a color he has called American flag blue, and after his motorcade was driven over a drained and repainted basin last week so he could see the project firsthand.
Charles A. Birnbaum, who heads the foundation, said the design of the pool is meant to create a reflective surface that stays subordinate to the solemn connection between the two monuments. He said a blue-tinted basin is more fitting for a resort or a theme park.
Katie Martin, speaking for the Interior Department, said the department is proud of the work being carried out by its Park Service to prepare the site for its 250th and for many generations to come. She called it a magical spot and said the work reflects a president who “has done more to make our nation’s capital a shining beacon than any other president in the history of this country.”
The Reflecting Pool is one of the most iconic spots on the National Mall, and the lawsuit says the repainting is part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews. Over the past year, he has bulldozed the East Wing to make way for a ballroom and pressed ahead with other changes in the city, many of which are already facing litigation.
The court fight now turns on whether the administration can keep moving before preservation officials finish the kind of review the foundation says should have come first. If a judge agrees, the work stops. If not, the blue basin in front of the Lincoln Memorial may become one more Trump makeover that survives the challenge.
