A nonprofit has sued the federal government over its plans to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue

"A nonprofit is suing the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the decision to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at Washington D.C.'s National Mall, and to paint the pool's basin blue. The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), an education and advocacy organization. In the suit, TCLF is asking a federal judge to halt the project, saying that the Trump administration failed to have the project reviewed federally, as is dictated by the National Historic Preservation Act."

"President Trump revealed his plans for the pool do-over last month in "American flag blue," saying that the project would take one week and $2 million, and that it would be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. A few days later on Truth Social, the president posted a fake image of himself and several of his administration officials in swimsuits, along with an unidentified woman in a gingham bikini, lounging in the water with the Washington National Monument at the rear. (Swimming in the reflecting pool is prohibited by federal law.)"

"In a YouTube video posted by the White House on April 23, Trump called the pool "filthy dirty" and said it "leaked like a sieve." In that video, Trump said he was going to call three companies that he has worked with in the past "all they do is swimming pools" and say, "Give me a good price." The New York Times reported last Friday that the contract for the reflecting pool's resurfacing was awarded in a $6.9 million no-bid contract to a company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which previously has never held any federal contracts."

A nonprofit filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over plans to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and paint the basin blue. The Cultural Landscape Foundation asked a judge to halt the project, claiming the Trump administration did not complete federal review required by the National Historic Preservation Act. The plan was announced as a one-week, $2 million effort timed for July 4. The president also posted and promoted related imagery and comments, while swimming in the pool remains prohibited by federal law. Reporting said the resurfacing contract was awarded through a $6.9 million no-bid deal to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company without prior federal contracts.

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