President Trump's splashy renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is already showing signs of trouble. On Thursday, paint was peeling from the bottom and floating into water that had turned green from algae—less than two weeks after Trump announced the project was complete.
According to Reuters, workers drained and refinished the historic pool under a $14.7 million no-bid contract awarded earlier this year. The pool is part of Trump's broader vision to remake Washington, D.C., which includes plans to tear down the White House's East Wing for a ballroom and build a large arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
Trump announced on June 6 that crews had finished the job. But by Tuesday, workers were already pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water to fight an algae bloom that turned the pool green instead of the dark blue Trump had showcased. MarketDash reached out to the U.S. National Park Service, which operates the National Mall, but did not immediately receive a response.
Visitors weren't impressed. "I want my money back after seeing this. I think our resources could be used a lot better elsewhere," Robert Dale of Edwards, Colorado, told Reuters. "I think this reflecting pool was beautiful before, before all this attention."
The project has drawn political fire. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized Trump for "showing off his pool" while gasoline, food, and health care costs rise. Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) also accused Trump of focusing on symbolic projects while drivers face high fuel prices.
The no-bid contract itself is under scrutiny. The project went to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings and was meant to finish before the nation's 250th birthday in July. Trump initially suggested he had spoken with someone familiar about the job but later said he didn't know the contractor.
