Lawsuit seeks to halt Trump’s makeover of Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool | Trump administration

A historic preservation group on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Donald Trump’s ongoing renovations of the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool; This is the latest in a series of court challenges to the US president and former real estate developer’s efforts to remake Washington DC landmarks.

The lawsuit, filed by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, alleged that the renovation violated the National Historic Preservation Act, a law passed by Congress in 1996 that outlines procedures for making changes to historic properties.

The nonprofit is seeking an emergency order to stop the Trump administration’s overhaul of the pool, which is focused on replacing its “grey stone” appearance with an industrial-strength coating the color of a blue swimming pool.

“The dark gray, achromatic basin is not incidental to the design,” the lawsuit stated. “That was the design.”

The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of the Interior, the executive agency overseeing the renovation, which said in a statement that Trump “has done more to make our nation’s capital a brighter beacon than any other president in this country’s history.”

Trump announced the project in April, saying “it’s going to be great” and “it’s really nice.” As the project, planned to cost approximately $7 million, started, Trump’s convoy went on an unannounced trip to see the project closely.

Trump said he was willing to oversee the renovation after a friend visiting from Germany criticized the condition of the reflecting pool.

“He said, ‘It’s dirty, it’s dirty. The water looks disgusting. It doesn’t represent the country,'” Trump told reporters at a White House event.

Some of the president’s other projects in Washington, including the renovation of the city’s golf courses and the construction of a ballroom at the White House, have also sparked legal challenges. On March 31, a federal judge blocked above-ground construction of Trump’s ballroom, writing: “Construction must be halted unless Congress approves this project through regulatory authorization!”

An appeals court later lifted the injunction, allowing ballroom construction to continue while the case continued.