Why Trump’s ‘American flag blue’ Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool makeover sparked lawsuit from NGO?
Washington: A Washington-based nonprofit, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, has sued the US President Donald Trump administration in an effort to stop ongoing renovation work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The lawsuit argues that the decision to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool in what President Donald Trump described as “American flag blue” was carried out without the required federal historic preservation reviews.
Group says changes alter historic character
The nonprofit said the Reflecting Pool is an important part of the visual and symbolic connection between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Charles Birnbaum, president and CEO of the organisation, criticised the redesign and said the blue-tinted basin changes the historic atmosphere of the National Mall.
According to the group, the project is part of a wider push by the Trump administration to carry out major redesigns in Washington without sufficient review or consultation.
President Donald Trump has publicly supported the renovation and previously described the Reflecting Pool area as “filthy.”
Last week, Trump’s motorcade reportedly drove across the drained and repainted pool area during a site inspection.
Speaking at a Rose Garden event, Trump defended the work and rejected criticism that the project was simply a paint job. He said the renovation involved “highly sophisticated” materials and claimed the site would reopen soon.
Lawsuit targets federal agencies
The lawsuit has been filed against the United States Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, the agencies overseeing many of the renovation projects currently underway in Washington.
An Interior Department spokesperson defended the administration’s efforts, saying Trump had done more than any other president to improve the US capital.
The Reflecting Pool controversy comes amid several other major renovation and redesign projects linked to Trump in Washington.
According to the report, projects include changes at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, modifications around Arlington Cemetery, and rehabilitation work near the White House.
Several of these projects are also reportedly facing legal challenges and public criticism over preservation concerns and the scale of redesign efforts.
(With AP inputs)