President Donald Trump’s makeover of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will cost Americans seven times more than he initially promised.
When the 79-year-old president announced the seemingly random renovation of the century-old pool, he claimed it would cost $1.8 million. But federal records revealed the Interior Department plans to pay $13.1 million to Atlantic Industrial Coatings to repair the pool and paint it blue, The New York Times first reported.
The federal government sidestepped requirements to consider competing offers and awarded the lucrative no-bid contract to the Virginia firm, which has renovated pools at Trump’s club in Sterling, Virginia.
“I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools,” the president told reporters in late April.
To do so, the Trump administration invoked a statute claiming the typical, lengthier process would cause “injury” to the government—but has not elaborated on how. Atlantic Industrial Coatings has never previously held a federal contract, according to records.
The Interior Department and the White House could not immediately be reached for comment.
The project has now been threatened by litigation, with The Cultural Landscape Foundation alleging that painting the pool blue violates federal law. Because the Reflecting Pool is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Washington-based nonprofit argues that the project should undergo review under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
“The Reflecting Pool should not be viewed in isolation; it is part of the larger ensemble of designed landscapes that comprise the National Mall. The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial,” Charles A. Birnbaum, president of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, said in a statement to the Daily Beast. “A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park.”
Others have criticized Trump’s relentless pursuit of MAGA makeovers amid surging prices and a war against Iran that he started without congressional approval—and still doesn’t have.
Just days ago, ABC News senior political correspondent Rachel Scott challenged the president on exactly that, asking: “Mr. President, you are here against the backdrop of the war in Iran. Why focus on all these projects right now? We’re still seeing gas prices soaring.”
Trump, for his part, shot back that the project was “beautiful,” and that Scott was a “horror show” and a “disgrace” who had asked a “stupid question.”
Still, the president hasn’t let the criticism get in the way of his pet project. On Sunday, he shared two images related to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Truth Social. In the first, workers are seen painting the pool; the second was a mockup of what the pool will look like once it has been painted “American Flag Blue.”
