Nonprofit sues to stop Trump’s changes to Reflecting Pool, a #HistoricSite

A Washington-area nonprofit Monday asked a federal court to halt Trump’s efforts to resurface the #LincolnMemorial #ReflectingPool, saying that #Trump [once again] failed to undergo required federal reviews before applying a blue color to the basin.

#law #landmark #preservation #UShistory #HandsOffOurProperty
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/11/trump-reflecting-pool-lawsuit-memorial/

Nonprofit sues to stop Trump’s changes to Reflecting Pool, a historic site

President Donald Trump wants to resurface the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool by July 4. A D.C.-area foundation claims he failed to get federal reviews.

The Washington Post
The Cultural Landscape Foundation, an education & advocacy organization, filed its lawsuit in the US District Court for DC. The group is seeking a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to stop the #Interior Dept’s work, citing a provision of the National Historic Preservation Act that mandates reviews when changing #historic properties.

#law #landmark #preservation #UShistory #HandsOffOurProperty #Trump

The foundation also wrote that the Commission of Fine Arts, a federal agency that advises on design projects related to the capital, has been involved with past changes to the #ReflectingPool but did not review the new #Trump project.

Charles A. Birnbaum, who heads the foundation, noted that the neutral colors originally used for the pool’s basin were intended to convey greater #depth & #reflection, which is now threatened by Trump’s changes.

#law #landmark #preservation #UShistory

“A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park,” Birnbaum said in a statement.

…The foundation also cited #Trump’s other Washington construction projects, including his decision to tear down the White House’s #EastWing to build his #planned ballroom without first seeking authorization from #Congress or obtaining approval from federal review panels.

#law #landmark #preservation #UShistory #HandsOffOurProperty

“This latest desecration of the reflecting pool is part of a pattern … in which this Administration willfully disregards #legal limits established by #Congress,” the Cultural Landscape Foundation wrote in its filing.

#Trump last month unveiled his rapid project to resurface the #ReflectingPool, saying that a contractor convinced him to use “American Flag Blue” to cover the pool’s basin. Trump has said the project will be completed by July 4, in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

#law

AYFKM? Stop this madness!

Survey work begins for contested #Trump#TriumphalArch” project in Washington

Workers began preliminary surveys & testing Monday of the proposed site of a Triumphal Arch sought by Trump, the latest step in plans for the contentious project in the nation’s capital.

#law #zoning #PublicLands #architecture #NationalParkService #NPS
https://apnews.com/article/trump-triumphal-arch-washington-42228fefe4e8c97820daabc3b268103d

Survey work begins on Trump’s proposed Triumphal Arch

Workers have begun preliminary surveys and testing for a proposed Triumphal Arch sought by President Donald Trump. The project, located between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, has sparked controversy. The National Park Service announced the work Thursday in a court filing related to a federal lawsuit challenging the arch. The proposed 250-foot-tall monument has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. A group of veterans and a historian have sued to block construction, arguing it would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House. The White House has not commented.

AP News

Workers were seen inspecting the site of the proposed #arch between the #LincolnMemorial & #ArlingtonNationalCemetery with tools & equipment.…

The work on the site was announced in a court filing Thurs in a federal lawsuit challenging the proposed arch. It consists of “surveys & geotechnical testing which are being used to generate information that will assist Defendant #NationalParkService (#NPS) in completing procedural prerequisites” that are part of the decision-making process.

#Trump #law

The ridiculously outsized 250-foot-tall proposed arch is one of several projects #Trump is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint [#vandalism] on Washington. As it will change the city’s sightline, it has already sparked opposition, including through the lawsuit filed by a group of #veterans & a historian.

The #arch design, proposed by Trump, has already gotten early approval from the US Commission of “Fine Arts”, all of whose members were appointed by Trump.

#law #PublicLands #architecture

@Nonilex hmm...seems to be right in the glide path of landing/taking off from national??
@Nonilex It’s going to take some pretty serious billionaire taxes to restore everything.
@Nonilex We're gonna get Six Flags over the Lincoln Memorial Theme park rides.
@Nonilex like Kim Jung Un, Stalin and others he is a wanna-be Fascist dictator and the trappings of all that are more important to him than anything else. He’s one sick fuck.

@Nonilex If this monstrosity occurs, it should be featured in every single Democratic congress advertisement this fall.

I decided to look up Jeffrey Epstein‘s swimming pool. I think I know where Trump got his idea from.

#epsteinswimmingpool

@Nonilex

Whoever took that demo contract should be jailed. Now that you’ve brought it up, how the hell could any modern business take that gig.

I know, I know, the bully in chief.