D.C. Preservationists Sue to Halt Trump’s Sculpture ‘Garden of American Heroes’
A coalition of preservation and cultural groups has sued in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to halt President Donald Trump’s proposed “National Garden of American Heroes,” a statuary project planned for West Potomac Park featuring roughly 250 Americans. Filed Monday, the lawsuit argues the garden cannot proceed without congressional approval, citing protections for the National Mall and the Commemorative Works Act’s requirements for new additions on strictly regulated federal land near memorials including the Jefferson Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The project was first announced by Trump in July 2020, and federal officials have allocated millions of dollars through the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, while Congress appropriated $40 million last year to purchase statues. Six organizations and a Washington resident are plaintiffs, naming National Park Service and Interior Department officials as defendants; Interior Department spokeswoman Katie Martin criticized the suit in comments reported by the Washington Post, while the White House has said the garden will comply with legal requirements but has not said whether it will seek congressional authorization.
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This story was covered in Safe Markets, Culture Wars, and Queer Reframing