Reflecting pool latest flashpoint in Trump's efforts to refashion DC
Key takeaways
- The department added $6.2 million to its contract with Atlantic Industrial Coatings — a Virginia firm that Trump said worked on swimming pools at his National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.
- The contract was awarded in a no-bid process last month, with the Trump administration bypassing a requirement to seek competing offers by invoking an exemption reserved for urgent situations, the Times reported.
- Trump railed against the outlet in an early Tuesday morning post on Truth Social, again insisting the project was coming in under the budget and timeline outlined by prior administrations.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Trump announced plans to repair and renovate the 2,028-foot reflecting pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial during an unrelated event in the Oval Office last month, describing its current condition as terrible and filthy.
He claimed the project, which includes waterproofing the pool s bottom, mending leaking joints and repainting it American flag blue, could be completed for less than $2 million and in time for the nation s 250th anniversary on July 4.
It never had the color people wanted, but now it s going to have the great color, Trump said after making an unannounced trip to the construction site last week with some of his Cabinet members, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.