{"id":637081,"date":"2026-05-11T19:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/637081\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T19:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:02:10","slug":"lawsuit-filed-to-stop-trumps-blue-repainting-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/637081\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawsuit filed to stop Trump\u2019s blue repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n A nonprofit dedicated to \u201cpromoting informed stewardship\u201d of historic landscapes asked a federal judge on Monday to halt the Trump administration\u2019s painting of the Lincoln Memorial\u2019s Reflecting Pool, which has long featured a gray basin, blue.\n <\/p>\n

\n The lawsuit<\/a> filed in federal court in Washington, DC, by The Cultural Landscape Foundation argues the project violates federal laws requiring the Interior Department to complete a consultation process that includes notifying the public of the plans and getting input from other federal agencies before beginning the work.\n <\/p>\n

\n The group also says the project runs afoul of a federal law requiring the department to issue an assessment of how the paint job would impact the environment.\n <\/p>\n

\n The lawsuit is the latest challenge to Trump\u2019s effort to remake a slew of cultural and historic institutions and sites in the nation\u2019s capital. Other groups have asked federal courts to stop the president from moving ahead with work on a massive new ballroom at the White House, construction of an arch similar to Paris\u2019 Arc de Triomphe and the painting of a federal office building adjacent to the White House.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cDefendants\u2019 failure to follow the law before inserting a permanent blemish on the National Mall is causing serious and irreparable harm to the Plaintiffs and the public generally,\u201d lawyers for the Cultural Landscape Foundation wrote in court papers<\/a>. \u201cWithout immediate judicial intervention, defendants will deface an iconic American landmark, in open violation of Congressionally mandated procedures.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The foundation\u2019s president and CEO, Charles A. Birnbaum, who is also a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement that the Reflecting Pool\u2019s design \u201cis fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"As<\/p>\n

\n \u201cA blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The case was assigned to Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee who has previously presided over challenges to the president\u2019s efforts to remake the federal workforce.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nichols has asked both sides to tell him by Tuesday evening whether he should hold a hearing over the foundation\u2019s request for an emergency court order halting work on the Reflecting Pool.\n <\/p>\n

\n The paint project has been a priority for the president, who last week drove across the drained Reflecting Pool to survey the landmark, which he praised for its new \u201cAmerican flag blue\u201d coating.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s much more beautiful than it was new because it never had the color people wanted, but now it\u2019s going to have the great color. So it\u2019s going to be good,\u201d Trump said last week.\n <\/p>\n

\n Asked about the new lawsuit, an Interior Department spokesperson said in a statement that the new blue color \u201cwill enhance the visitor experience by making the pool reflect the grand Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Interior also touted other changes being made at the site to help with the maintenance of the pool\u2019s water quality.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe Department is proud of the work being carried out by our Park Service to ensure this magical spot can be enjoyed for not only our 250th, but for many generations to come,\u201d the spokesperson said, referring to the upcoming anniversary of the US\u2019 founding.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A nonprofit dedicated to \u201cpromoting informed stewardship\u201d of historic landscapes asked a federal judge on Monday to halt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-637081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}