Donald Trump’s massively over-budget makeover of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has reportedly hit a humiliating hurdle, with documents suggesting the project is behind schedule and plagued by repair issues.
The fresh revelations come shortly after the president erupted into a furious 400-word rant defending the controversial renovation project, following reports showing the cost had ballooned far beyond what he had initially promised.
According to internal Interior Department documents obtained by The New York Times, staff members raised concerns about the quality and pace of work being carried out on the iconic Washington pool by Virginia contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings.
The documents reportedly showed that bubbles and small holes had appeared in one of the waterproofing layers being sprayed onto the pool, raising concerns that the material was not adhering properly. Officials also flagged problems with uneven application of the pool’s newly selected “American flag blue” paint shade, leaving parts of the reflecting pool “mottled” in different shades of blue.
The issues were reportedly being addressed, but the documents cast doubt on whether the project would meet its May 22 completion deadline.
That timing matters because the Trump administration bypassed standard federal bidding competition rules by arguing there was an urgent need to complete the repairs ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Daily Beast in a statement: “The restoration effort will be completed ahead of America’s 250th celebrations and for a fraction of the cost that the former Presidents Obama and Biden squandered only to worsen its condition.”
The Interior Department awarded Atlantic Industrial Coatings a lucrative no-bid contract in April after invoking emergency procurement powers typically reserved for situations where delays could cause “serious injury” to the government.
Trump himself publicly praised the company at the time, telling reporters: “I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools.” The firm is reported to have worked on pools at Trump’s club in Sterling, Virginia.
But on Tuesday, Trump abruptly distanced himself from the contractor, following reporting about the project’s spiralling costs.
“Also, I didn’t give out the contract, ‘Interior’ did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Although the contract was awarded on April 3, government records reviewed by the Times reportedly showed that as of Sunday, just 35 percent of the pool’s surface had been fully coated. Another major repair task of replacing leak-prone joints between slabs reportedly hadn’t yet started, with less than two weeks remaining before the deadline.
Trump initially claimed the work would cost just $1.8 million. In his furious Truth Social tirade Tuesday, he revised that figure upward to “5 or 6” million dollars.
But the New York Times revealed that the Interior Department plans to pay $13.1 million to Atlantic Industrial Coatings.
