Washington nonprofit files lawsuit over Trump resurfacing of National Mall reflecting pool

A Washington-area education and advocacy nonprofit on Tuesday sued the Interior Department and National Park Service over President Trump's resurfacing the bottom of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation and Charles A. Birnbaum, the organization's CEO, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the president failed to follow congressional mandated procedures for such a project. 

By altering the historical character of the pool, at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, without engaging in a process of consultation as required by the National Historic Preservation Act, the federal agencies violated the law, the lawsuit argues. 

"No consulting parties have been notified, engaged, or given an opportunity to participate. This latest desecration of the reflecting pool is part of a pattern – epitomized most notably by the rush to destroy the East Wing of the White – in which this administration willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress," the group said in their complaint. 

In a statement, the Interior Department told The Washington Post that it was proud of the work the Park Services was doing, which would "ensure this magical spot can be enjoyer not only" for the the country's 250th anniversary  "but for many generations to come." 

Trump announced the project last month, which he said would cost roughly $1.5 million. The New York Times reported Friday, the Interior Department awarded $13.1 million to a Virginia-based firm, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, in a no-bid contract. 

"You're going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it's supposed to be, much better than it ever was, actually," Trump recently said.