Reflecting Pool damage resulted from Trump’s hand-picked contractor’s botched work not vandalism
Reflecting Pool damage resulted from Trump’s hand-picked contractor’s botched work
- Mon, Aug 10 2026 at 2:25 PM
Mark,
The DOJ admitted in court what CREW warned about months ago:
The damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool wasn’t caused by what Donald Trump claimed were “Deranged Vandals.”
It was caused by a Trump-picked contractor’s botched work—and a rushed project that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars.
Politico: “Reflecting pool damage was the result of botched work, not vandals, DOJ says” We called this out. We won’t stop until there is accountability.
In April remarks to the press about the Reflecting Pool, President Trump announced that it would be renovated in advance of the 250th anniversary celebrations for the Fourth of July.
For the project, Trump personally pushed for a contractor he allegedly used for a swimming pool at his private golf course—bypassing the typical competitive bidding process.
Since entering the contract with the president’s chosen vendor, the Reflecting Pool has run into many issues, necessitating additional taxpayer funding. The new blue paint has begun to peel, and the pool experienced significant algae blooms.
We warned that the Trump administration may have violated federal contracting and ethics laws by steering lucrative government contracts to Trump associates without the normal competitive bidding process.
Now, we’re seeing exactly why those safeguards exist: A project Trump claimed would take one week and cost less than $2 million took two months and ballooned to more than $14 million.
Mark, let’s be clear: This was a no-bid contract that may have violated contracting laws—and resulted in millions of dollars in repairs. Taxpayers deserve answers. That’s why CREW filed a complaint in June demanding that this contract be investigated.
Such unscrupulous behavior harms businesses that play by the rules in the contracting process, their workers, and the taxpayers, who get less value for their money.
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