Gooden Backs Trump Effort to Restore Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

This press release from Representative Lance Gooden (R-TX) was published on 2026-06-03 and titled "Gooden Backs Trump Effort to Restore Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool".

Gooden Backs Trump Effort to Restore Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

WASHINGTON - Congressman Lance Gooden (TX-05) submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of President Trump's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in the ongoing lawsuit, The Cultural Landscape Foundation v. U.S. Department of the Interior. The suit was filed in early May by the nonprofit The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), seeking to halt the Trump administration's modernization and resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which began in mid-April. "Only in Washington would activists sue to stop the restoration of one of America's most iconic landmarks," said Rep. Gooden. "President Trump is working to restore beauty and pride to our nation's capital, while his opponents would rather leave the Reflecting Pool deteriorating just to score political points against him." Defending the administration's right to proceed with the project, the Congressman's brief highlights the lack of legal grounds for an emergency halt. In the brief, Gooden asserts, "[The] Plaintiffs have not demonstrated the imminent, irreparable harm that equitable principles demand before a court grants extraordinary preliminary injunctive relief." Gooden also argues that the disagreement over the shade of the sealant at the base of the pool "does not rise to the level of severity contemplated by the D.C. Circuit's irreparable-harm standard." The brief was featured in an exclusive article by the Washington Reporter. The text of the brief can be found here .