Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan wanted to build a museum honoring the 16th president beneath the cavernous Lincoln Memorial.
Rep. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., wants to build a museum and research center in Springfield, Ill.But apparently the Lincoln war won't be fought, after all. It seems that construction work needed to spiff up the Memorial will mean the space planned for the museum will be unavailable for years to come, Lujan said in a letter to Durbin. He is dropping his plan for a new museum.
"This letter eliminates the concern about competition between Washington and Springfield," Durbin told Associated Press.
Lujan started the dispute earlier this year when he expressed interest in a Lincoln Memorial museum. The U.S. Capitol Historical Society, headed by a self-described "Lincoln nut," said it was willing to raise money to build it.